


Dance with the devil

by darcy81



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-02-15 14:26:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 57,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18671521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darcy81/pseuds/darcy81
Summary: Waverly Earp has worked in the narcotics dept of her local police station in the city for nearly two years. When an opening comes up to infiltrate the biggest drug baron this side of the city, Waverly, and her partner Xavier Dolls jump at the chance to get in there. She goes undercover as a jazz singer at a club owned by Bobo Del Rey and managed by one of his lieutenants, Nicole Haught. Waverly knows this is work. Knows she needs to watch and report back and knows she just has to keep her head down and figure out where the drugs are stashed-easier said then done when the woman she's watching seems to make her feel things she knows could get her into trouble-and maybe even killed...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well... THIS came out a lot quicker than I was expecting...
> 
> As with everything I write-I post sporadically and don't stick to a schedule or anything!
> 
> Enjoy...

The rain lashed down against the pavement as Waverly Earp made her way towards the precinct. She had been a police officer for almost four years, and a detective within the Narcotics department for nearly eighteen months. As soon as she had graduated with a first in criminal justice, Waverly knew she was destined to wear the badge. Narcotics had been something she had always been interested in-wanting to get drugs off the streets and try and help people get clean. She was tough as nails on dealers, but addicts were a different matter. Waverly had an intrinsic need to help people, and she tried to be sympathetic when it came to getting users the help they needed. 

She ran up the steps and into the building she had worked at for over a year. She had begun her career at a precinct across town, but when a space on the narcotics team came up, she had been approached by the departments most respected officer, Xavier Dolls, and found it too good an opportunity to miss. 

Xavier and her had an excellent working relationship. There was a mutual respect there, but also, and perhaps more importantly, there was a level of trust Waverly had only experienced with one other person-her sister Wynonna-who was back in their home town of Purgatory three hours out of the city. 

She opened the door to their department and found her friend and colleague hunched over his desk, frowning at something on the computer screen in front of him. She shook the water from her coat and hung it on the rack in the far corner, smiling at Xavier’s complete lack of social awareness as he ignored her entrance

“I got your message… this better be good…” Waverly said by way of a greeting. She had been about to order her food whilst on a date with a guy she had been trying to arrange to see for over a month. He was a district attorney and they had met on a case she had worked a couple of months back. As soon as her bit was over, she had received a call from Joshua asking her to dinner. They had spent the last month trying to get a night where both of them were available, and tonight was that night. Or at least it was until Xavier Dolls called her in for an emergency meeting. 

He finally looked up from the screen and gave her an apologetic look, realising tonight was the night of her date

“Sorry… this couldn’t wait…” he said, almost sheepishly “You sing right?”

Of all the things she thought her partner was going to say, that was not one of them

“Kind of…” Waverly replied, trying not to sound confused and failing miserably

“We may have an opening for an undercover operation at Willow… but it’s as a singer…”

“Xavier, everything you just said needs explaining… start from the top…”

Dolls had a habit of not always sharing what was in his head, and Waverly had, at first, found this frustrating, but now just found it one of his many idiosyncrasies she had grown quite fond of

“I have an informant within Del Rey’s gang, he plays piano at one of his clubs-and one of their singers just quit… its an ideal opportunity to get someone in there and see if we can figure out where their shipments are coming from and where they stash their goods” Dolls explained. Waverly sighed and sat down, realising she was in for the night

“Hang on…” Waverly said through a sigh as she reached for her phone and sent a text to Joshua explaining she was going to have to stay at work longer than she had anticipated and promising to call him tomorrow. She then looked at the man in front of her and nodded for him to continue

“Doc Holliday” Xavier said as he pinned a photograph of an older guy with a huge bushy moustache and a black Stetson hat “Been running with the Bandito’s for a little over five years. He was arrested last year and was threatened with jail time unless he co-operated with us… he’s been my informer for nine months, and so far, everything he’s given us has come through… in short-he wants out, and knows the only way he gets that, is to help us break this case…”

“So where do I come in?”

“Willow-one of Del Rey’s seemingly legitimate businesses… it used to be a pretty seedy strip joint called Pussy Willows, but the neighbourhood is on the up and since management of the club was passed over to one of his key gang members-Nicole Haught-she changed the name and turned it into more of a jazz bar-but the killer is, its members only” Dolls paused to put surveillance photo’s up of a redheaded woman dressed in a sharp suit deep in conversation with Bobo Del Rey-the infamous leader of The Bandito’s-a gang responsible for the distribution of various narcotics onto the streets spanning close to a decade

Waverly nodded her head in understanding “So you want me to go in and sing at this bar to try and get intel on their suppliers?”

“Essentially yes… we can’t get in there easily otherwise-Haught seems to be running a clean business-but she’s clearly one of Del Rey’s people and our intel points us to this place as a ‘too good to be true’ business… According to Holliday, Del Rey appears there at least twice a week, listens to the first set then disappears into the back with Haught for the rest of the night-what we need is for you to join the band and become a regular face… Del Rey is a sucker for a brunette so the chances are, you’ll draw some attention-it goes without saying you do not get close to him-Haught is our person of interest here-Holliday believes if we crack her-we’ll crack the whole gang”

“Are her and Del Rey together?” Waverly asked

“Negative-Haught is gay and as far as we can tell, she’s single-she doesn’t let anyone get close to her, so we need you to just watch and report back-we need some eyes in there to try and decipher what the hell Del Rey is up to... word is he’s planning to expand-we need to figure out what that means…’ Dolls explained as he handed Waverly a file on the elusive redhead

“So… how do we do this?” The brunette asked

“Holliday is holding auditions tomorrow afternoon-you will be seen to audition and he will pick you to join him for a set that night-how’s your jazz knowledge?”

“I know some classics but nothing obscure… I’m guessing that’s not a problem?”

“Here’s a set list… learn these over the next eighteen hours and you should be fine-we don’t want Haught to see through you-she’s notorious for getting the measure of people quickly-its one of the things Del Rey trusts most about her, so be aware that she watches everyone and everything-and she does it silently” 

Waverly took the list and glanced down at the songs. She recognised all of them and knew at least four already by heart and she felt her apprehension momentarily lift

“The likelihood is you will be searched when you go in-we will sew a microphone into your bra which will be discreet enough to get past that and Holliday will be your back up-any problems, you get out immediately” Dolls instructs 

Waverly had been undercover once before, which had got three dealers off the streets successfully-but that was in a different city and with a different unit-so she could understand the trepidation in her bosses voice

“I’ll be fine-get in, watch, listen, learn and don’t get caught…I got this Dolls” Waverly said confidently. She watched her boss nod his head and then hand her an ipod and some sheet music

“Back here tomorrow morning to get kitted out with a new wardrobe ”

“What’s wrong with my clothes?” Waverly asked with a raised eyebrow

“You look like a cop-we need to make you look like a singer whose okay with working in less than salubrious clubs”

“I thought you said it was legit?”

“It appears legit-but something is going on, and I think Haught is the key to finding out what”

 

As instructed, Waverly arrived at work the next day with 15 songs in her head and the file on all things Nicole Haught read and memorised. She was handed some clothes to change in to, and disappeared into the locker room-going in a cop and coming out dressed in a pair of very tight denim jeans, a tight black vest with a voluminous rolling stones t-shirt over the top of it and a vintage leather jacket. She looked cool-something Waverly herself would admit she was not. Adding to this the three different lengths of necklaces, some silver bracelets and some black leather boots and she barely recognised herself. 

She took her sheet music, her large leather bag and the ipod Dolls had loaded her ‘set’ onto, left the station and headed to the subway-deciding not to risk the club being watched by the gangs own surveillance. She found the club easily enough and was unsurprised when she pushed open the doors and walked in to the sound of a woman singing a terrible version of ‘First time ever I saw your face’. Waverly walked up to the doorman sitting behind a booth and gave her name-deciding to take her aunt’s maiden name of Gibson as her own for the duration of the assignment. 

When she had been in grad school, they had explained that it was easier to try and keep some semblance of truth in the web of deceit an undercover officer wove. She had been brought up by her aunt and uncle, but had kept her fathers name Earp for a surname. She was raised in the McCready house, but a little research by their tech guy Jeremy, Waverly and Dolls discovered there was no link to Earp and Gibson-her aunt’s maiden name-so it was safe to use it as her cover name-making it infinitely easier for Waverly to remember. 

The piano finished and after some murmuring a blonde woman appeared from behind the curtain and left the building-Waverly assuming she had been the voice she could hear. A moment later, the man with the Stetson and the moustache appeared and looked at the clipboard handed to him by the doorman

“Waverly Gibson… that you?” The man asked with a surprisingly soft voice

“Certainly is… You the guy who posted the ad?”

“That I am… Doc Holliday… come on through” he replied with neither a smile nor a glance in her direction. She smiled at the doorman and followed Doc through to a plush looking bar. There were no windows, just velvet curtains running around the entire place. Small tables were dotted in front and to the side of a stage and booths lined the edges of the walls. A huge glass bar ran along the left of the seating and beyond that were what Waverly could only assume were offices and the backstage area.

Doc sat at the piano on the right of the stage and reached out for the sheet music-Waverly deciding to audition with ‘My baby just cares for me’ by Nina Simone. The chords started and Waverly nodded along slightly to the beat as she waited for the intro to finish. She sang confidently into the mic-having been in a band when she was at college, she didn’t get fazed by hearing her voice coming out of the speakers or the idea of people watching her. She loved to sing-and had a decent voice-it wasn’t professional standard, but judging by the place she was in, and the voice she’d heard before her, that didn’t seem to be much of a problem. The song finished and Doc turned to look at Waverly for what felt like the first time

“When can you start?” he asked, sounding almost disinterested

“Whenever you want” Waverly replied with a shrug. 

He nodded his head and took a cigarette out of a packet on top of the piano “Start tonight and see what the boss thinks” 

“You not the boss?” Waverly asked as she picked up her bag. 

“Me… no ma’am, I am merely the piano player” Doc replied with the slightest hint of a smile

She was making her way back towards the exit when Nicole Haught strode into the club flanked by a couple of men. She stopped when she saw Waverly, and looked at the woman in front of her with surprise

“Can I help you?” Nicole asked, her voice steady and confidence radiating off her

“I don’t think so-I’ve just auditioned for Doc Holliday” Waverly replied with a smile-although she had seen a photo of the woman in front of her-it did not do the redhead justice. Her skin was flawless, her hair made you want to reach out and run your fingers through it and her brown eyes were so dark you could be forgiven for getting lost in them

The redhead nodded and smiled, revealing the smallest hint of dimples in her cheeks “How did it go?”

“Okay I think-though its up to the boss, so I guess we’ll see how I do tonight” Waverly said nonchalantly 

“Tonight huh? I’ll look forward to it” Nicole replied with a smirk so small it could have been missed if Waverly hadn’t been paying attention. The brunette smiled slightly at the taller woman and then watched as the redhead turned to the two men with her and led them into the bar-unsure why she felt quite so uneasy and yet so safe around the woman walking away from her

 

The bar was busy when Waverly stepped out to join Doc and the other musicians on stage. She glanced across the room and spotted Bobo Del Rey immediately in his fur coat and his blonde tipped mohawk. Considering most drug dealers tried to remain anonymous, this guy demanded focus. He was flanked either side by Nicole and another woman that Waverly could only assume was a girlfriend judging by the way Bobo’s hand was resting on her thigh 

Doc started to play the opening chords of ‘Girl from Ipanema’ and a guy called Ollie picked up the bass line. There was another man, James, on the drums and a saxophonist called Rosita who started a light accompaniment. Waverly had met the bad a couple of hours beforehand when they had played through the set list and done a quick sound check. Doc was the band leader, and he would say over the music which solo they were going for before the musical break began so Waverly just had to watch the pianist and follow his lead. She stumbled a couple of times over a few notes, but all in all, they got through the set relatively unscathed. The group at the back in the booth continued chatting through-out, and as Doc informed the smattering of audience they were taking a break, they received a lack lustre applause across the bar. 

Waverly wasn’t used to such a reception. When she had been at college, their band had quite a following and she had revelled in the whooping and cheering they received more than she realised

“It pick’s up from Thursdays, the first couple of nights of the week are always like this” Rosita said from behind her.

Waverly turned to the woman and smiled warmly “They certainly make you work for it… can I get a drink from the bar? Or is that frowned upon?” 

“Sure you can… We have an open tab” Rosita replied 

“Wow… that’s… dangerous” Waverly laughed. Rosita nodded her agreement and smiled along with the smaller woman. 

“We didn’t always have it, but when Bobo gave management over to Nicole, she set it up-said it was the least they could do for us having to play to a less than enthusiastic crowd” Rosita explained as the two women came out from the dressing room behind the stage and into the bar. 

“Sorry, I don’t know who the hell you’re talking about-I’ve literally met you guys and Ben the doorman” Waverly lied seamlessly

“Oh right… so Nicole is the manager-she’s great-but keeps herself to herself mainly-she’s sitting in the booth over there” Rosita began as she pointed across the bar towards the group still deep in conversation “and the guy she’s talking to-that’s Bobo. He owns this place and a couple of other clubs a bit further out of town-he’s recently bought a new club in the centre of the city, so he gave this place to Nicole to manage about eight months ago-used to be a strip joint, but she turned it into this”

“Well… I’m glad it’s not a strip joint-not sure how our set would go down there…” Waverly joked. Rosita laughed along with her and nodded her head

“You’re funny…” The musician said “I like you”

“Well hopefully the boss likes me enough to stay on-although, saying that, I’m not sure which one Doc meant”

“Oh definitely Nicole… she’s the one that runs things here… isn’t that right boss?” Rosita said, directing the last part to someone who had come up behind Waverly

“What’s that?” A strong yet effeminate voice replied

“Waverly was just saying its up to the boss whether she stays or goes… I was telling her that’s your call…” Rosita informed with an air of authority 

“Rosie… Why don’t you go over and see Bobo… he’s been asking after you…” Nicole replied-it was a thinly veiled command, and one that was obeyed immediately. Waverly turned in her seat to look at the redhead, unsure of what she was going to get-usually she could read people easily-but there was something about Nicole Haught that eluded her

“I hope the depleted crowd hasn’t put you off us?” Nicole asked softly “I’d hate for you to take this first impression as a sign of what its actually like here regularly”

“Rosita was saying it used to be a strip joint… I’m just relieved I don’t have to take my clothes off” Waverly said drily. Nicole looked her in the eye and showed a hint of a smile

“Yeah… I took over management and realised I would be better getting people into a jazz bar rather than a strip joint”

“You surprise me” Waverly replied with a smile

“I’m not built for running strip joints… goes against my feminist tendencies”

“Well I’m not sure its anti-feminist to run a strip club-or to work in one-as long as its what you WANT to do, rather than what you HAVE to do…”

“You think so? I’m surprised by that…” Nicole said

“Why?”

“I’m not sure… I just had you pegged as someone who would disapprove”

“You’ve met me for thirty seconds”

“But I’ve watched you for longer… up there… you bring an innocence to the stage when you perform-I guess I’ve been taken in by you” Nicole replied

“Looks can be deceiving…” Waverly retorted. She could feel herself leaning forward, wanting to get closer to the woman leaning against the bar looking at her like she was the only person in the room

“I don’t think I got your name…”

“Waverly Gibson”

“Well Waverly Gibson… I hope you can bring yourself to return to my little club…

“If you’ll have me…” The brunette said, unsure why she was flirting, but seemingly unable to stop herself. Nicole Haught stared at her for a moment before standing up straight and smiling down at the her

“Please take advantage of the bar-it’s the least I can do for the singer” 

Waverly knew that was an indication to the end of their conversation, and despite her better judgement-she found herself disappointed. She thanked the redhead and watched her walk back to the large group of people at the back of the club and away from Waverly for the rest of the night


	2. Chapter 2

Three weeks she’d been there. Three weeks and so far Waverly had only managed to confirm that Nicole Haught-and Willow’s as a business-appeared to be as clean as a whistle. Waverly had only seen the dressing room, the bar area and the corridor. She needed to see what was beyond, but she couldn’t for the life of her find an excuse to get herself there. 

Doc Holliday was about as helpful as a trombone in a gun fight. He grunted and smoked his way through their sets, and joined the group with Bobo as soon as their evenings were over. Waverly and Rosita tended to stay at the bar, but occasionally they would be invited to join in with Bobo’s men-Waverly, so far, managing to avoid that particular activity. Nicole would spend a great deal of time at the club. She was always there when Waverly arrived-even when they were all called in early for rehearsal-and seemed to invariably be the last one standing at the end of the night. As much as Waverly wanted to talk to the redhead, their interactions were limited to ‘good set’ or ‘sorry the crowd wasn’t enthusiastic’. Occasionally it would venture into more interesting conversation, but they would finish as quickly as they would start and Waverly would feel no closer to discovering what the club was hiding-if anything at all

The brunette shared all her frustrations with Dolls during their bi weekly meetings. They would pick a coffee shop in the student district of the city and spend a couple of hours catching up. He would bring a laptop with him and Waverly would type up her reports with her findings. Which, at the moment, were limited at best. 

“You’re going to have to get beyond the corridor” Dolls announced-as if it was the easiest thing to do in the world

Waverly inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, digging deep for her patience before answering 

“I know that Dolls, but its easier said then done. Haught is NEVER out. It’s like the woman has no life”

“Which just means she’s hiding something…” Dolls replied

A plan started to form in Waverly’s head-If she got to the club early afternoon under the guise of ‘practising’ a couple of new songs, Nicole could maybe not be there at all-I mean she had to go home at some point surely? She promised Dolls she would be on hyper alert, and then left him to pick up the bill as she quickly made her way to a local music shop she knew to invest in some sheet music. 

Armed with a new jazz standards book and an innocent expression, Waverly walked to the club with purpose. She marched towards the front doors and found them locked. This was not part of her plan. She assumed it would be open without actually checking. Not to be put off, the brunette made her way round the side of the building and found the back doors unlocked. She pulled it open and entered, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. It took her a moment to get her bearings-having never used this entrance before-and she soon realised she was exactly where she wanted to be-at the other end of the corridor. She heard music being pumped out into the bar so assumed Sam or the other bar man Jason were in re-stocking. She slowly walked towards the dressing room at the far end of the corridor, taking in every room she passed. Unsurprisingly, all doors were closed, so Waverly decided to just bite the bullet and open each one to see what was inside. 

A sort of dangerous ‘Through the Keyhole’ she mused to herself as she got to the first door and opened it. 

She found herself looking down a set of stairs-clearly having found the basement. All of her cop instincts were telling her this would need looking at thoroughly, but they were also telling her today was not the day-she needed to keep her cover, and if she went snooping around too much, she would definitely blow it. 

Closing the door softly, Waverly moved onto the next two doors. They were both locked, and Waverly had no intention of trying to break in this afternoon, so she moved to the fourth and final door. Opening it up, she was taken aback to find Nicole Haught sitting at an enormous desk-her suit jacket on the back of her chair, and her wallet, keys, watch and a hand gun sitting on the desk in front of her. Waverly’s stomach lurched as she realised she’d been caught-expecting one of the two locked door to be the office and not this one she was currently standing at the threshold of.

Nicole looked up in annoyance and then surprise as she took in the brunette-Waverly trying to ignore the fact a firearm was just sitting out in front of the woman like some sort of status symbol

“Waverly” Nicole said, almost bemused “You’re in early”

“Yeah, Sorry-I wanted to ask if you’d mind me sitting and going through some numbers-I want to add a couple of songs to the set, but need to see if I can sing them before suggesting it to Doc” Waverly lied as she held up her new music book by way of explanation

“Why would I mind?” Nicole asked

“Well it’s your place and I don’t know if you have other things on during the day or anything” she replied nervously

“Other things…” Nicole queried “What, like mother and toddler groups?” 

Waverly squinted her eyes at the redhead “That sassy tone is unnecessary…”

“Is it?” Nicole answered with a raised eyebrow “Well we don’t have any other things happening here other than jazz in the evening, so as far as I’m concerned, you are free to rehearse all you want-just ask Jason to turn the music off-he should be almost finished”

Waverly couldn’t help but wonder if that barbed comment was meant in warning-looking at the woman in front of her, all big eyes and dimples, she would suggest not-but then again, there was a gun sitting between them and Waverly couldn’t shake the feeling she’d just been warned. 

“Thank you Nicole, I really appreciate it” Waverly said with a smile as she started to retreat

“What were you looking for?” Nicole suddenly asked as Waverly was almost out of the door

“Hmm?” Waverly replied, her heart beating so fast she was sure it could be seen through her top

“When you were opening doors in the corridor a moment ago… What were you looking for?” Nicole replied, her eyes steely and her tone so calm it was almost menacing

“You” Waverly answered without missing a beat “I didn’t know where your office was and I wanted to check you didn’t mind me coming in early and using the piano” 

Nicole slowly nodded her head in understanding, never taking her eyes from the smaller woman “Well now you know where my office is, you have no need to look elsewhere”

“Exactly” Waverly replied 

“And next time…” Nicole began, capturing Waverly’s attention once more “knock”. The redhead looked back down at the papers in front of her, indicating their conversation was over. 

“I apologise Nicole-it won’t happen again” 

Waverly didn’t wait for a reply as she walked out of the office and closed the door quietly behind her. If she had to use a word to describe Nicole Haught, intimidating would not be at the top of that list. Until now. She may be charming when she wants to be and look at you like you hung the moon-but underneath that, Waverly had just had a glimpse of the gangster she was sent to watch-and for the first time, Waverly could see how Nicole Haught had risen through the ranks so quickly. No, Nicole Haught wasn’t intimidating-until she was-and when she was, it was one of the most terrifying things Waverly had ever experienced

 

Waverly didn’t see Nicole again that night-or the following two nights after that. Whilst she wanted to ask after the woman and figure out where she was, she had been warned by Dolls to not look too eager-so she just came and went from ‘work’ every night getting on with the task at hand. As always, the crowds picked up mid-week, and by Thursday night there were a decent amount of patrons in the bar, all of whom were interested in their music. 

After the final song, the band made their way back to the dressing room and started to change into their regular clothes Waverly and Rosita had struck up a friendship and both were planning to stay for the rest of the evening. Rosita had been open with Waverly from the very beginning, and appeared to be legit in her reasons for being at the club-whilst she knew who everyone was, she didn’t seem to be overtly involved. 

Both women made their way to the bar and sat on stools at the far end, ordering their drinks and chatting easily about their respective days. Rosita had a habit of taking the stool facing the rest of the bar-leaving Waverly to sit with her back to the room-something she was sure wasn’t on purpose, but couldn’t help feel frustrated with. Since Waverly had started singing with the musicians, Bobo had been in most nights and watched both their sets. Waverly found him a curious subject, but had so far managed to steer clear of actually talking to him. That was until she watched Rosita’s face plaster on a smile she’d never seen before and say hello to the man who was approaching them. She introduced Waverly to him and then made her excuses to leave-the signal for her to do so not slipping past Waverly

“Do you know who I am?” Del Rey asked once they were alone

“Rosie said you were the owner of this place” Waverly replied, keeping her voice steady and her breath regulated

“I’m Bobo… and I don’t mind admitting to you that I’m a fan of your work…”

“Well thank you very much Bobo…” Waverly replied, trying to keep a grimace off her face

“Do you like my place Waverly?” the man asked, looking around them, surveying his realm

“I like that you pay me” She answered with a laugh “I really like it… it’s got a great atmosphere in here and I like the band very much”

Bobo licked his lips and smiled a sinister smile that had her feeling even more uneasy than before. He leant in to say something but was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder and Nicole Haught at his side. 

“Bobo, the cars outside…” Nicole said “Sorry, good evening Waverly…”

“Nicole…” Waverly replied 

“Huh?” Bobo shook his head and looked up at Nicole, almost like he had been in a trance looking at the smaller woman in front of them “Are you busy the weekend of the 14th Waverly?” 

“I’d have to check my diary… why?” She asked curiously

“I’m having a party that weekend at my place outside the city… you should come, shouldn’t she Nicole?” Bobo announced, more of a demand than Waverly felt comfortable with “Nicole can drive you after your set Saturday night-stay for the weekend… Doc is coming and Rosita too… Think about it…”

“I might just do that, thank you” Waverly said

“Bobo, we’ve got to go” Nicole suddenly chipped in sounding irritated

“Nic, you’ll bring Waverly out to the country that weekend won’t you?” he replied, ignoring the urgency in the woman’s voice

“If she can make it, then of course I will, but we have to leave now or we’ll be late…”

“I’ll see you soon Waverly” Bobo finally said after looking at her for a beat. She watched as he turned and walked back to the booth to collect his coat and then made his way outside. Nicole remained in front of the brunette looking neither happy nor displeased

“Don’t feel like you have to come next month” Nicole said after a beat

“Do you not think I should?” Waverly pushed

“I don’t think you should feel obliged”

“That’s not what I asked” Waverly challenged

“It’s the only answer you’re going to get… Goodnight Waverly” Nicole replied. The redhead turned and walked towards the door, never looking back-despite something inside Waverly wishing that she would

There was something about Nicole Haught that perplexed Waverly. She was undoubtedly a very fearsome woman, but she had kind eyes-and Waverly had always believed that the eyes were the windows to the soul. She had seen one instance where Nicole had been mildly stern-but then, wouldn’t anyone be like that if your office door was opened and the person hadn’t knocked first? Whenever they interacted-which wasn’t a lot, but enough to form an opinion-Waverly couldn’t help but feel something not wholly unpleasant around the redhead. But she was also dangerous. She was clearly a woman who yielded power and demanded respect-seemingly having a fleet of men willing to take her orders and show a sort of loyalty to her not seen often in the criminal underworld. Waverly was intrigued by her. How she had found herself part of Bobo’s gang in the first place and worked her way up to being, by all intents and purposes, his deputy. It wasn’t a journey there was a whole lot of information on-and Waverly was desperate to know more. 

She didn’t like to admit that she was attracted to the redhead-and the fact that she was made Waverly feel very, very uncomfortable. Not because she was a woman. Waverly knew years ago she would never discount anyone as a romantic interest if she felt drawn to them, but because Nicole was a dangerous criminal-and that went against everything Waverly believed in.


	3. Chapter 3

Nicole Haught could really have done without this today. She had been in since the morning trying to balance the books and had brought Jason and Sam in early to take charge of a stock delivery so she didn’t have to. But then the damn driver had put his back out and all hell had broken loose. As soon as she saw the old man doubled over in pain, she knew there was nothing else to be done, so she’d gone back into her office, stripped down to her vest and gotten into the back of the filthy lorry to help unload. 

Sweaty, sore and more pissed than she probably should be, Nicole shouldn’t have been surprised when that pesky singer had rocked up, all long hair and cute smile. She had watched them struggle for a couple of minutes before smiling sweetly and declaring she had ‘just got her nails done’ so there was ‘no way in hell’ she could help. Nicole, despite herself smiled and watched her disappear into the club for an afternoon rehearsal. 

Nicole didn’t get distracted. They were close to the biggest deal of their lives right now-she couldn’t afford to get distracted, but this woman waltzed into her club and that was it. She was distracted. 

There was something about Waverly Gibson that made her want to watch. She was flirty, but there was a definite line, she could sing-but not well enough to be a serious contender and she was so beautiful she made Nicole want to do things. Lots and lots of things. Waverly would be in the middle of a song and Nicole would find herself drifting off whilst she watched and imagine all sorts of scenarios. Some of them involved a romantic daydream of wandering along the river, hand in hand, eating ice creams, and other would involve her locked office, her large desk and Waverly taking Nicole for all she was worth. The thoughts were wildly inappropriate but they just wouldn’t quit. 

The problem was Bobo. Bobo had become more than a little aware of the newest worker at the club. She had, at first, ignored his leering-after all, what was it to her who the boss looked at-but the more of Waverly she saw, the more Nicole wanted to get to know her properly. What she wanted to do was ask the brunette to dinner. To take her to that little Italian she’d invested in on the edge of town and discover every little thing about her. But right now? Out of the question. Bobo needed to be kept on a tight leash, and it seemed she was the only one he would listen to. 

Bobo had bought a house on the outskirts of the city and was planning to fill the cellar with a shipment of weapons stolen by a motorcycle gang called ‘The Revenants’. The idea was they would trade weapons for drugs-the motorcyclists having an easier way to move the drugs around county lines without being watched and The Bandito’s had access to an ex-military gang that had cropped up who were very interested in buying their gear at a high cost. In affect-if this all worked out, the three biggest gangs this side of Canada would finally start to work together. If they worked together, they would protect each other-thus making it an interwoven group to massive proportions. 

Bobo hadn’t taken too much convincing to branch out-the dollar signs too tempting and his need for power too great. They had been planning this hand over for a little over eight months, and were three weeks away from pulling it off. Nope, Nicole couldn’t afford to be distracted…

And yet…

She shook her head, trying to rid her thoughts of the brunette-easier said then done when she could hear her singing a blues version of ‘I wish’ with the band accompaniment-and doing a damn fine job of it too

Doc Holliday had been as steady as a rock over these last eight months. Reliable and on hand whenever they needed him-she was pretty sure he was dealing a little on the side-but as long as he didn’t stray too far, or skim off too much, Nicole let it slide-he had proved his worth in more ways than one, and when this was all over, Nicole knew she would owe him more than a little bit of money.

Bored of the four walls of her office, Nicole took her laptop into the bar and settled in her usual booth. She grabbed a sparkling water and then opened her computer, bringing up the accounting sheet she kept encrypted so she could tally up their latest profit. Protection money was their biggest earner. Nicole didn’t have anything to do with that side of the business. She made it clear she wouldn’t intimidate and she wouldn’t sell sex. Bobo had recently bought a couple of houses in the centre of town that he was planning to run as upmarket brothels, but Nicole had steadfastly refused to get involved. She had hoped that he wouldn’t follow that path once the deal with ‘The Revenants’ had been done-but so far he would not be deterred. 

She had just finished inputting the numbers when the band finished their rehearsal. All agreeing to go for dinner before they were called back for their evening shift. All except Waverly, who had forgotten an outfit for the night and had decided to head back to hers to pick one up. Nicole momentarily thought about offering to drive her-but shook those thoughts from her mind when she saw her and Rosita leave together. 

Rosita.

Now there was a woman Nicole kept at arms-length. She was a proficient musician and nice enough, but her and Doc had broken up fairly recently and Nicole couldn’t shake the feeling that all the drinking and staying late were in part to annoy the cowboy. She had no intention of getting involved in that sort of spat, so had taken herself far out of the situation. A couple of the boys had tried to court her, but Nicole had warned them off-under no circumstances was anyone to approach her with romantic intentions-you don’t shit on your own doorstep. 

Which, once again, brought her back round to Waverly Gibson and the problem with Bobo’s attention. If he and Waverly so much as had a drink together, it would mean she was out of bounds to the rest of the gang-and Nicole didn’t want to admit how much that idea rattled her. Waverly seemed to have more about her than wanting to be the girlfriend of a gangster-but you could never tell. And if Nicole was being honest-that was all she could offer her anyway-but the problem was, Nicole was thinking about the IDEA of Waverly Gibson. And that could come with difficulty if she didn’t get a grip and pull herself together 

The redhead decided to just leave the brunette to it-she would HOPE Waverly had more about her, but wouldn’t force the issue-after all, Waverly had made no attempt to let Nicole know she was any more interested in her than anyone else. Nope, she was NOT going to think about it anymore. 

That was until Waverly was running late that night. Nicole watched her scurry past the doorman, Ben, and throw him a smile and a wave and then straight through the bar and into the large dressing room off the back corridor. Nicole followed her in and saw her burst through the door, apologising before she even got past the threshold. 

Nicole walked up to the door and heard Rosita say “You’re cutting it fine” 

“I know, I know… sorry… fucking subway…” Waverly replied. Nicole knocked on the door and then opened it before either Rosita or Waverly could yell ‘come in’

“You’re late” Nicole said coldly

“I know, sorry… subway was a nightmare”

“Rosie… I think Doc was looking for you” Nicole announced. Rosita took the hint and left the women alone, closing the door behind them

“Can you do me up?” Waverly said as she spun round and indicted the zip on the back of her dress. Nicole let out a huff of air but walk towards the smaller woman anyway

“Anything else?” Nicole asked, somewhat uncharacteristically

“Water would be great” Waverly replied as she ran a brush through her hair and reached for her lip gloss. Nicole quietly walked to the door “Where are you going?”

“Err… to get you some water…”

“Oh god don’t worry about that-just tap water is fine” Waverly said dismissively. Nicole shook her head but walked to the sink and filled up a glass

“Thank you” Waverly said, readily accepting the drink and gulping from it immediately “Did you want something?”

Nicole tilted her head and looked at the brunette “Do you speak to all of your bosses like this?”

“Only the cute ones” Waverly replied with a wink. They heard the band start up and Waverly walked to the door throwing it open and disappearing out onto stage.

Yep… definitely not distracted…

 

“What do you think of the new singer?” Bobo asked as he wandered around Nicole’s office waiting for her to count the money he had deposited on her desk. The redhead looked up and caught Bobo’s eye, knowing exactly where this conversation was headed. She tried, and failed to shrug nonchalantly-but Bobo was a perceptive man and knew immediately she was trying to fob him off

“As I thought… We find ourselves at an impasse then don’t we?” he said with a slight smile

“I’m not sure what you mean?” Nicole countered, throwing an elastic band around $5000 she’d just tallied up and leaning back in her chair

“I can’t figure out if she’s interested in me or you” her boss said absentmindedly

“Maybe she’s not in to either of us”

“She stays late every night after work for a drink, she looks over at us as she sings and she has an enticing smile… I’d say she’s definitely interested… but I don’t know who in…” Bobo reasoned 

Nicole shifted in her seat-she rarely spoke to Bobo about her personal life, and she never spoke about women the way the guys did-they were not to be bartered for or duelled over-and she had no interest in entering into a pissing contest with the man in front of her

“Do you think she will come next weekend?” he asked, playing with the ends of his little goatee beard

“I have no idea” Nicole replied “but I’m not sure it’s a good idea she does”

“How so?” 

“Because we have The Revenants doing the drop off at 2AM and whilst I’m sure Waverly is aware of who we are and what we do, I’m not sure she’s here for that… I think she’s genuinely a singer and its too risky to have her at the house when the exchange happens” Nicole said

“Hmm… I think we should make it a big party-invite all of our… friends… that would cover us if there are any questions”

“What do you mean?” Nicole questioned calmly

“I mean everyone in our back pocket-lets invite them-have Waverly and the band be the entertainment and whilst the judges are upstairs drinking our alcohol and enjoying the hospitality, we will be downstairs swapping cocaine for weapons… it’s the perfect cover-if we are ever questioned, we just say the date and we’ll be out of there in no time”

Nicole had to hand it to her boss. He was a genius at some things. She nodded her head slowly and smiled at the man in front of her

“That sounds like it could work-I’ll hire an act for here and get to the house late afternoon so we can set up before people arrive and have an evening of jazz music to accompany Canada’s finest”

“My thought’s exactly… talk to Waverly… persuade her…” Bobo said with a sinister smile “unless you think I should talk to her?”

“It’s fine-I’ll talk to her tonight after the set-I’m sure she’ll see the benefits” Nicole covered. Bobo nodded his head and walked to the door

“I will get Fish to do the catering and make sure Sam can be on hand to mix drinks… I’ll leave the invitations to Rita”

Nicole nodded her agreement and watched her boss walk out of the door. Rita had been married to Bobo for years, and she was as shrewd as he was when it came to business. They had a fairly open marriage, she not being at all concerned with how Bobo spent his evenings, and even taking the odd man to her own bed once and a while. Nicole had never understood their set up, but it worked for them, and that was all that mattered. 

She sighed and looked down at the big pile of cash still on her desk. There must be close to $50,000 in front of her, which needed counting, binding and locking away. It was close to midnight now, so she sighed and got on with the task in hand. Waverly Gibson could wait, she had other matters to attend to

***

 

Waverly and Dolls rarely argued. They were a team. They had each-other’s backs. But they were at loggerheads right now. She had been asked again last night about going to Bobo’s party, and had managed to evade answering by claiming her sister might be coming to town. Nicole had frowned slightly at the knock back, but then covered it with a dimpled smile and a ‘we need to know tomorrow’ before the redhead had said goodnight and disappeared back into her office. 

Waverly wanted to go. Dolls was adamant she shouldn’t. 

That’s how they found themselves arguing inside an IKEA at a retail park near their precinct. It had been Waverly’s idea to meet there and wander around the shop updating each other of their last few days. Dolls had grumbled about it, but admitted it was a smart way to not be overheard and if anyone saw them-they would just look like a couple deep in conversation about pillow choices and candle holders. 

“It’s too dangerous” Dolls said “Doc can step in if it gets too much at the club, but in a house… Waverly, you know its out of the question”

“But if this is where they keep their shipment, surely we need to get in there and see as much as we can-it’s the perfect opportunity Dolls-even YOU have to see the benefits”

“Not at the risk of exposing you” Dolls countered

“It wouldn’t come to that”

“How can you possibly know that?” Dolls argued back 

“Because…” Waverly started to say, but stopped herself

“Because what Waverly?” Dolls said slowly, turning to look at his partner

“I just know…” Waverly replied weakly

“Waverly… What is going on?” 

“I know it sounds crazy-and I don’t want you to blow up… but I trust her…” Waverly answered, looking her partner directly in the eye “I trust that she wouldn’t let anything happen to me”

“You trust her? Jesus Waverly can you hear yourself?” Dolls said incredulously “She’s a gangster for Christ sake”

“I know that Xavier” Waverly spat “I am aware, but that doesn’t mean my intuition is wrong-I trust she will keep me safe. No-one suspects anything-they all think I am a two bit jazz singer who loves Billie Holliday and is good at baking”

“Baking?” Dolls questioned “please don’t tell me you’ve taken cakes in there for them?”

“Only once. It was Jason’s birthday and his wife was too busy to make him a cake, so I did” Waverly tailed off looking sheepish. Dolls exhaled loudly and stared at her, forcing her to look away in embarrassment

“We need to take this to Nedley” he said stoically. Randy Nedley was their captain and whilst he was a gruff, irritated sort of man, there was no doubt he was one of the best cops Waverly had ever had the pleasure of working alongside. He had signed off on the undercover mission in the first place, and had been kept updated on the progress by Dolls over the last month. Waverly knew Nedley better than most-and she knew he would be opposed to her idea

“Look, she needs an answer tonight and I can’t really see it going down well if I said no… I have been put into an impossible position, but I think we can, and should use it to our advantage-Xavier I know it sounds crazy, but I honestly think it will be okay… You know we have to do this”

Dolls signed in resignation and nodded his agreement. He hated the idea of Waverly in there on her own-but then again, its what she’s already doing and she was right-if this was where they were storing their drugs, they could potentially make a bust sooner than originally anticipated and Waverly would be out of there quicker. 

“I’ll talk to Nedley and let him know… We’ll need to use a tracker on your phone”

“I know-and I’ll take precautions… thank you Xavier” Waverly said sincerely. 

They continued their trip around the store, Waverly picking up a throw, a house plant, some new bowls and a bedside table-much to Dolls’ annoyance. They drove back to her apartment and unloaded her purchases-Dolls grumbling as he picked up the flat pack and Waverly running ahead to open the doors for him-both of them oblivious to the SUV parked across the street and the person inside watching them 

 

As soon as Waverly entered her apartment after her shift the following night, she knew something was off. Her boots had been put away, her post tidied onto the side board and a scarf she’d left on the floor in her haste to leave had been hung up. She put her keys down and flicked the hallway light on, walking into the living room and being unsurprised when she saw Xavier sitting on her couch

“Did you tidy up in here?” she asked her partner as she surveyed the neatness of her living space and lack of dishes in the sink 

“Would you judge me if I said yes?”

“Judge you? I’d ask you to move in” Waverly retorted

“Then no.. no I did not…” Dolls said with the barest hint of a smile

“Not that I don’t LOVE coming home to you but Xavier… why are you here?”

“Nedley’s calling us both in” Dolls answered “I think he wants to talk about the 14th”

“Did you talk to him?” Waverly questioned

“I did… he said he needed to see us both once you’d finished your shift tonight” Dolls replied-giving nothing away. 

Waverly sighed and picked up her bag she had thrown at her feet “Come on then, lets get this over with”

They drove in relative silence to the station, Dolls always content to be quiet rather than make small talk. When they had first been partnered together, Waverly had found his manner awkward and a little infuriating. But, like so many things about the man, it had become something she cherished. Especially when it was close to 3AM and her tiredness was kicking in. 

They entered the station and went straight to their department on the third floor. Randy Nedley was in his office looking more pissed than Waverly had ever seen him. She had a sneaking suspicion she was about to be reprimanded and steeled herself to just take it on the chin and accept whatever her boss said.

“You took your time” Nedley barked as soon as they entered his office

“Apologies Captain, I didn’t finish until an hour ago” Waverly replied by way of explanation-trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. They both stood at the desk opposite their boss, waiting for him to invite them to sit, and were both equally surprised when he stood and ordered them to follow him into one of the interview rooms at the far end of the corridor.

As soon as the door was opened an older blonde woman turned to face them-her hair scraped back into a bun giving her a severe look and a power suit that screamed fed

“Waverly, Xavier-Sophia Lucado… Lucado is with the bureau” Nedley said as soon as the door was closed

“FBI? What are you doing here?” Dolls asked immediately

“We noticed you’ve been working undercover at a club called ‘Willows’ in the city… we need you to stop” Lucado said once they had all shaken hands and sat down

“What? Why?” Waverly said, felling more than a little sore this woman had turned up and started giving orders

“We are investigating the Bandito’s for far more than your drugs bust…” Lucado replied

“We’ve been looking into them for nearly a year-we can’t just stop” Dolls argued

“You can, and you will” Lucado retorted immediately

“Captain…” Dolls said, turning to Nedley for support. Randy Nedley took a deep breath and leant against the wall

“Waverly has done excellent work and has managed to get herself invited to a party Bobo Del Rey is having next weekend-we’re confident she can make progress once there” their boss informed the agent calmly

“And we have an informant in there” Dolls argued

“Doc Holliday… Yes, we’re aware of your relationship with him” Lucado said “look, I’m with organised crime and the fact is we have a lot more riding on this than drugs-I’m talking weapons, fencing, brothels… Del Rey is a nasty piece of work and we are very close to bringing his organisation down”

Waverly’s stomach lurched realising all her hard work was all for nothing, but had to agree, this was clearly bigger than them, and they needed to be gracious in defeat. 

“This is bullshit, you can’t just come in here…” Dolls had started to say, but stopped when he felt Waverly’s hand on his arm

“Dolls, maybe Lucado is right… this is bigger than us… who cares who takes them down as long as they’re off the streets right?” Waverly said gently. Dolls sighed in resignation and looked at his partner-a hint of a nod showing Waverly he would no longer argue

“Okay…” Nedley began “So how do we extract Waverly safely?”

“It’s no longer that simple” a familiar voice said from behind them. The hairs on the back of Waverly’s neck stood up as she turned to watch Nicole Haught stride into the room


	4. Chapter 4

“Special Agent Nicole Haught… and with respect… you have royally fucked up” the redhead said as she instantly took control of the situation in front of her

“Nicole?” Waverly said as she stood “What the… you’re…”

“Undercover… have been for almost three years-and you have made things VERY complicated” Nicole replied, clearly trying to keep her anger in check

“How so?” Nedley asked from behind them all

“Bobo has noticed her. I mean REALLY noticed…” Nicole informed them 

“Shit…” Waverly muttered as she sat back down next to Dolls “My assignment was not to get close to him-but to gain intel on you” Waverly said honestly “We were led to believe by Doc Holliday if we could crack you, we could maybe break up the entire Bandito organisation…”

“Doc thinks that? That guy had no idea what he’s involved with…” Nicole said as she shook her head, let out a breath and took the chair next to Lucado and opposite Waverly

“So… how do we solve this?” Nedley asked the room

“Why don’t I just quit? Say I got a better paid gig across town-that way Bobo won’t come looking” Waverly suggested

“Don’t you get it? The man’s an obsessive… he will just follow you and threaten anyone that tries to employ you…” Nicole answered

Waverly had suspected Bobo had taken a shine to her, but had hoped her aloof attitude would have been enough to show her disinterest. 

“So… what? I just keep singing there but no longer investigate? I’m not doing that-I’m a police officer not a performer” Waverly said

“You can’t be involved in the investigation, its too dangerous” Nicole countered “And with all due respect, I have no idea what your capabilities are”

“I fooled you” Waverly snapped “so I’m clearly more than capable of pulling it off”

“You played a jazz singer for three weeks. Well done.” Nicole bit back. The argument playing back and forth in front of the other officers in the room

“Do you know what, fuck you Haught”

“Three years Waverly. I’ve kept this up for three years, so forgive me if your moment on stage hasn’t blown me away” Nicole retorted “and you fucked up”

“No I didn’t” Waverly argued “I’ve played this perfectly-and you fucking know it”

“What about putting the two of you together?” Dolls interrupted “He’s an obsessive sure, but he’s also loyal as hell-if Waverly is with you, he’ll step back right?” Dolls interrupted

“Absolutely not” Nicole replied so quickly Waverly found herself bristling

“No need to be quite so dismissive” Waverly muttered

“Look, I meant no offense but it’s a dreadful idea…”

“It’s actually not that bad an idea…” Lucado said suddenly “Nicole, you’re in too deep and you know we’ve been needing an excuse to have you around less-a girlfriend is the perfect solution. The fact that Waverly has gotten introduced to you all as naturally as she has only solidifies the realism of the meeting”

“He LIKES her-you know that’s crossing a line I can’t cross” Nicole argued

“But he hasn’t approached her yet” Dolls countered “has he?”

Waverly looked at Nicole for a beat and then shook her head “No he hasn’t” 

“Lucado is right… we will back off from our end-Waverly can stay and work alongside you and as the romantic interest of Nicole… work together… have each-others backs… it’s a safer option for everyone” Nedley agreed

Nicole looked around the room and then back at the scowling brunette in front of her “Can we have the room please?”. The other three cops got up and left, leaving Waverly and Nicole staring at each other. They sat in silence for a moment, neither of them willing to break the tension

“This isn’t going to be easy…” Nicole finally said “You will see and hear things that goes against every instinct you have… I need to know you can handle it before I put myself in this position… it’s too dangerous to fuck about with”

“I know that…” Waverly defended “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t know I could handle it”

“Okay then… he… he suspects there’s something between us-so I’ll have to tell him you approached me” 

“What do you mean?” Waverly questioned

“Exactly that. He claimed he couldn’t tell who you were interested in-me or him… turns out it was me-but not for the reasons he thinks… so now I have to sort of ask his permission-if you’re one of his men-figuratively speaking-you need to ask him if you can become involved with someone-he’ll do a background check on you, which will come back clean as I’ve already done one-your tech guy did a great job-and if Bobo doesn’t feel too bitter and gives up on the idea of you and he together, he should say yes… You’ve caused quite the stir Waverly Gibson…”

“Earp”

“What?”

“Earp… Waverly Earp…” Waverly said “If you’re going to date me, you may as well know my real name…”

“Earp… huh…” Nicole replied

“What does that mean?” Waverly said with a raised eyebrow

“Just what I said… huh…” Nicole said with a slight smile “I’ll talk to Bobo tomorrow and see what he says… if he says yes-I’ll approach you tomorrow night”

“Okay… What should I do in the meantime?”

“Just keep doing what you’ve been doing-you did have me fooled for a while” Nicole admitted 

“What gave me away?”

“Waverly Gibson doesn’t have a sister” Nicole said before she got up and walked to the other side of the room “Goodnight Wavery Earp” the redhead said as she opened the door and disappeared down the corridor

Waverly sat alone for a moment collecting her thoughts. The fact that Nicole wasn’t who she thought she was filled her with relief more than anything. She had known there was something about the woman, and Waverly could now put it down to her cop intuition. Or maybe women’s intuition. Or maybe, just maybe she had seen a softness in Nicole that others hadn’t. Whatever it was, she could rest easy that she was not attracted to a gangster-but, in actual fact, an FBI agent-and Waverly would be lying if she said she didn’t find that concerning

 

Thursdays to Saturdays their second set started a bit later, and Waverly far preferred it that way. When she first experienced the later crowd she had found them all more receptive so she was always happy when Thursdays came round. After the final song, they were whooped and cheered off the stage and they all felt like they were playing as a band as supposed to a bunch of misfits thrown together to make music. 

Waverly walked out into the bar still in her cocktail dress and ordered a gin martini. She sat and watched the bar tender mix her drink, smiling as it was placed down in front of her and taking a sip from it immediately. Bobo had walked in half way through their second set and Nicole and he had disappeared into the office as soon as he arrived. She had tried not to look at the woman whilst she had been singing but often found her eyes wandering towards the redhead. She felt the presence of someone next to her and assumed it would be Nicole, so was disappointed when it was a man she’d never seen before, wearing a sharp suit and too much hair wax

“I saw you sitting over here and felt compelled to come over and introduce myself” the man said by way of introduction

“Lucky me…” Waverly replied drily

The man looked momentarily startled, but then started laughing a lot louder than he should and nodded his head “Oh god you’re joking… names Karl Huntington-Jones”

“Is that your real name?” Waverly said before she could stop herself

“It is yeah… I loved your singing…”

“Thank you Karl” Waverly replied with a smile. She was sighing internally at the thought of having to keep the company of this guy. She was about to make her excuses when a man Waverly had never spoken to before, but recognised as part of Nicole’s crew, put his arm around Karl and pulled him in by the shoulder

“Move along fella” the imposing figure said

“Erm… we were actually in the middle of a conversation” Karl replied slightly flustered

“Sorry, management orders” the gang member retorted with no expression. 

The man beside Waverly looked between the two of them and then leant forward “Are you okay? I can take you out of here if you want”

Waverly smiled at him gratefully “I’m fine here thank you, but it was nice meeting you Karl”

The man nodded his head and then stepped away, muttering an apology as he went 

“You wanna explain that?” Waverly asked once Karl had disappeared

“Boss said she’d noticed him staring at you and I was to keep an eye out… I’m Levi by the way…”

“Well thanks Levi-I appreciate the concern”

“Just obeying orders” Levi shrugged “mind if I join you for a drink?”

“Not at all…” Waverly smiled

Levi ordered a beer and bought another drink for Waverly-who opted for a less strong Gin and Tonic. They chatted amiably for half an hour-Waverly discovering Levi had a partner called Fish who was a chef at one of Bobo’s restaurants and that Levi himself was Bobo’s driver. Waverly was finishing her second drink and about to call it a night when Bobo appeared and signalled for Levi to follow him out. He noticed Waverly at the bar and approached her-his sinister smile sending a shiver up the brunettes spine

“Waverly… how was your night?” he asked

“It was good thank you Bobo-how’s business?” Waverly replied with her signature smile

“Business is busy-I’m sure I have you to thank for that-Nicole speaks very highly of you”

“Well that’s very nice to hear” Waverly said before she leant in and whispered “I speak very highly of her too”

Bobo nodded his head and smirked “So I hear”

Waverly laughed and ran her fingers through her hair “Oh… She told you that huh?”

“Nicole and I have no secrets” Bobo replied whilst looking her up and down and licking his lips “have a good evening Waverly” 

Bobo walked away just as Nicole was coming back out into the bar and heading towards the brunette. Nicole nodded at him as he passed her and then turned to Waverly and smiled

“May I?” Nicole asked, indicating the stool next to the brunette, earning a smile and a nod from the smaller woman “How was the rest of your night?”

“Good… Thursdays are by far my favourite crowd” Waverly replied with a smile. “Although I was about to get chatted up by some guy called Karl, but Levi came to my rescue…”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah… said it was bosses orders…”

Nicole laughed and then looked at Waverly, throwing her a dimpled smile that Waverly found almost too much to bear

“I spoke to Bobo…”

“Oh did you now?” Waverly said as she swivelled round to face the redhead 

“Yes… Waverly Gibson, I would love to go out for dinner with you tonight” Nicole said with a grin 

“Tonight?” Waverly questioned

“You got other plans?” 

“No, not at all…” Waverly flustered 

“So… that’s a yes?” Nicole replied, whilst quirking an eyebrow. Waverly could no longer deny the fact that Nicole Haught made her giddy. So instead of trying to deny it, she did the grown up thing and just ignored it.

“I was going to try and make you work a bit harder, but I’m hungry, so let’s go” Waverly teased. Nicole laughed lightly and stood, telling Waverly she was going to collect a couple of things from the office and then meet her back out here. Waverly, likewise went to the dressing room to get her things. This wasn’t a date. She knew it wasn’t a date. This was work. And she was okay with that. Sort of. 

Waverly walked back out to the bar to see Nicole appearing from the office with a jacket on and some keys in her hand. She looked up and grinned at Waverly and then reached for the brunettes bag

“Shall we?” Nicole said. Waverly nodded and Nicole led them out throwing a “Goodnight Sam” to the barman as they went 

They walked out onto the street and Nicole stopped in front of an enormous SUV parked right outside. Nicole opened the car door for Waverly and then walked round to the driver’s side and got in. Waverly settled against the plush leather seats and hummed at the luxury

“This a company car?” Waverly asked

“Something like that” Nicole said. She pulled out onto the street and drove them to a little Italian restaurant on the outskirts of the suburb. They walked in and although the place was packed with people, the two women were seated immediately-in a booth at the back of the restaurant. Waverly smiled as they were handed menus and ordered a gin and tonic. Nicole barely glanced at the menu before placing it on the table and leaning back in her chair, a small smile on her lips as she watched Waverly eagerly read the choices

“You not going to eat?” Waverly asked, not looking up but clearly aware she was being watched

“I know what I want” Nicole replied

“Bring all your women here do you?”

“Only the cute ones” Nicole smiled, throwing Waverly’s line back at her. Waverly looked up in surprise and then laughed at the woman in front of her

“Touché” the brunette said “So what’s good here?”

“Well that depends on what you like” 

“Are you always so evasive?”

“It’s a habit I’ve picked up” Nicole answered ruefully “I will rephrase… I recommend the pizza-it’s not too big, and they’ll do me a half with a salad so I don’t feel too full this late at night”

“See… that wasn’t so hard was it” Waverly teased “and that sounds good-I’ll have the same”

Food ordered and drinks arrived, the two women finally felt like they were alone. Nicole took a sip from her red wine and remained leaning back, looking as relaxed as Waverly had ever seen her

“So… how are we going to do this?” Waverly asked. Nicole placed her wine down and took a deep breath-this was going to take all night, and was going to be complicated-and whilst the food was good and the company not unpleasant to look at, Waverly realised quite how deep Nicole was involved, and quite what a dangerous position the brunette now found herself in.

 

The rules were pretty simple-make it look like they’re a convincing couple when at the club or around any of the people Nicole worked with-and make sure Waverly appeared to do as she’s told. Waverly knew the rules. She had been involved in the making of the rules. But she couldn’t help but be a bit pissed watching Nicole Haught get chatted up by a very beautiful woman as Waverly sang the blues. 

Literally.

The set finished and the late night audience applauded with as much vigour as they had all night. Not very much. Which, for a Wednesday night wasn’t surprising. Nicole applauded. Nicole always applauded. The brunette she was talking to looked across at the retreating musicians and gave them a cursory clap. Something that incensed the smaller woman even more. 

Once changed from the usual cocktail dress she wore during their performances Waverly managed to convince Rosita to join her for a drink-something her friend agreed to do as long as it didn’t turn into a sort of silent ‘fuck you’ to Nicole Haught and the woman she was currently embroiled in a conversation with. 

They ordered their usual and started to discuss a regular member who seemed to have taken a shine to the musician. Waverly was encouraging Rosita give the guy a chance-there was no reason not to if her and Doc were really over. Half way through the pros and cons list Waverly was making for the saxophonist, Nicole appeared behind her, leaning her arm on the bar just behind the brunette. Waverly looked at Rosita and made a face that was half smirk and half pout and then turned to look at the redhead behind her

“Managed to drag yourself away I see” Waverly said. Nicole looked Waverly in the eye and noticed the challenge in them

“Jealousy isn’t something I ever thought I’d see from you” Nicole replied smoothly. Waverly scoffed and shook her head

“I’m not jealous…” the brunette countered, sounding only slightly convincing. Rosita made a tutting noise behind them and shook her head

“Come with me” Nicole said as she held out her hand. Waverly looked down at the proffered hand and then back up at the redhead

“I’m good here thanks” the brunette replied. Nicole raised her eyebrow and looked her dead in the eye

“I won’t ask again Waverly” It was said not unkindly, but the look that accompanied the statement reminded the smaller woman once again how Nicole had been so convincing in her role. Waverly looked at Rosita and rolled her eyes

“So bossy…” She muttered as Nicole took her hand and led her into the back corridor

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Nicole said as soon as the door closed behind them

“Playing the jealous girlfriend” Waverly shrugged “What’s the problem?”

“It’s distracting”

“That’s not my fault” Waverly argued. Nicole had led Waverly into the corridor and was standing incredibly close to the brunette, who had found herself pressed up against the wall

“I cannot risk having my head elsewhere-so cut the crap and behave the way we BOTH agreed you would”

“I’m not a fucking lap dog Nicole. If you want me to be convincing, this is it-me being convincing”

“Waverly I swear to God if you…” Nicole started to say but stopped abruptly when she heard the door at the other end of the corridor open. She pressed her lips to Waverly’s without a second thought and kissed the smaller woman passionately. 

Waverly was startled for approximately 0.5 seconds before she realised what was happening and went with it. She closed her eyes, ran her hand up into the back of Nicole’s hair and kissed the woman for all she was worth. Waverly wasn’t surprised that kissing Nicole Haught was a very pleasant experience. The taller woman had the softest lips Waverly had ever felt, and she didn’t manage to supress the moan that occurred once the redhead swiped the brunettes lower lip with her tongue

Nicole kept her right hand by Waverly’s head and moved her left onto the brunette’s hip, pulling herself closer to the smaller woman as she did so. They continued until there was a throat clearing beside them-which came a lot later than either woman felt comfortable with-knowing full well they were being watched

“Sorry to interrupt ladies” Bobo said with a smile that made both women feel uneasy “Nicole, we need to go through the guest list for the party before I leave so Rita can get the invites out”

Nicole turned towards her boss and nodded her head “No problem… Can you give us a sec?”

“Of course” Bobo said, never taking his eyes from Waverly. He finally broke his gaze and walked towards the office as Nicole leant in to Waverly and placed their foreheads together

“You okay?” The redhead asked softly

“Of course… Shall I wait for you? Or…”

“Wait-please… I mean, if you don’t mind?”

“I don’t mind at all Nicole” Waverly answered, she stole a glance at Bobo, who was now waiting outside the office but still watching the women intently. Deciding she needed to look invested, she stood on her tip toes and kissed the tip of Nicole’s nose “just… don’t be too long”

Nicole grinned at the smaller woman and nodded her head, squeezing their hands together quickly then turning towards her office and walking towards her boss, who made no show of hiding his leer

Waverly huffed out a breath and pushed herself off the wall. She ran her hand through her hair and walked back out into the bar, swiping a thumb over her lips as she re-joined Rosita

“So… I gotta ask… How did you manage it?” Rosita asked as soon as Waverly had sat down, picked up her drink and taken a sip

“Manage what?” Waverly said with a smile

“I mean, don’t get me wrong-I’m delighted-but she’s so closed off… how did you crack her?”

Waverly looked out across the bar “You ever notice the guys watching us?”

“What that lot? Never” Rosita answered with a scoff

“She did. She watched… I figured she was never going to ask me, so I took matters into my own hands”

“But Waverly… you do know what she does right? Doesn’t it bother you?”

“What does she do?” Waverly asked, interested in what Rosita would say

“Well you know who Bobo is… and she works for him-like properly works for him…Word is he’d be lost without her”

“All I know is she’s the manager of this club, and…” Waverly started but then stopped herself

“And what?” Rosita pushed

“I think she’s fascinating… I’m fascinated by her” Waverly said honestly. Because she was. What Nicole was doing was nothing short of heroic-to be so deeply undercover rarely ended well-but Nicole was pulling it off beautifully-and Waverly knew, above all other things, she would move heaven and earth to keep the woman safe


	5. Chapter 5

In the week that followed, Waverly would finish with the band, sit and have a drink and then join Nicole if it were deemed appropriate. It was a bullshit set up as far as Waverly was concerned-but not one she could argue with, when it was made abundantly clear there was no room for discussion. Nicole was attentive when it suited the mood, and Waverly hated the fact she became more settled when that was the case. To all those around them, they were a couple in the first throes of a relationship-nervous around each other and not yet comfortable with much physical interaction when in company. 

They hadn’t talked about the kiss-both grown up enough to know it was a necessity at the time to cover up the argument they were about to have. They had left the club together most evenings since that night, and Bobo had seemed to be around more than ever-something that made Nicole uneasy and Waverly concerned. 

Bobo watched Waverly as much as he could-he didn’t hide the fact he watched her, and it made Waverly feel increasingly uncomfortable. She had finished singing an hour previously and had been invited to join the group as soon as their set was done. The party was only a couple of days away and the gang seemed to be in high spirits on the lead up to it-all seamingly looking forward to spending a weekend out in the countryside. Bobo had been particularly leery tonight, and Waverly had tried in vain to let it wash over her, but the more he stared, the more unsettled she felt and before she knew what she was doing, the brunette had reached for Nicole’s hand and had run her nose up the side of the redhead’s neck to whisper into her ear. 

Nicole turned slightly towards the action and listened when Waverly quietly whispered she was being watched. Nicole pulled back and looked her in the eye before smiling slightly and standing up. She offered her hand to Waverly and announced they were going to head off for the night. Bobo raised his glass to them as they left and Waverly could feel herself shiver as they passed him-knowing full well he was watching them leave

As soon as they were outside Nicole pulled Waverly into her and hugged her tightly

“I think he may have bugged my place” Nicole whispered

“Do you want to come back to mine?” Waverly asked. So far they had been careful to not actually drop Waverly outside her apartment in case there was a tracking device on Nicole’s car. Bobo trusted Nicole implicitly, but he didn’t get to where he was without being cautious. As far as anyone was concerned, Waverly lived in the business district of the city-so Nicole parked up round the corner from the subway and would often walk Waverly to the trains so she could get on and ride back in to the city and actually get off at the Cathedral stop-having bought a place round there a couple of years ago

“Better not… I’ll drop you at the subway as usual and pick up a cab-I have an actual apartment near the hospital-I need to go home and get my post-I’ll stay there tonight and if anyone asks, my phone was off and left in the car so I could concentrate on you…”

Waverly nodded her head and ignored the thing that statement did to her body

“Okay… So, do you want to grab breakfast tomorrow round here and we can talk about the weekend? I’m guessing Bobo think’s we’re staying there Saturday night?”

“Yeah, that would actually be really helpful” Nicole replied with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She turned to go, and Waverly found herself pulled towards the redhead. This had to be taking its toll on the woman-it was usually easier to get through this sort of operation without anyone else knowing about your true identity. Waverly and her being paired up must have had a significant effect on how Nicole now approached the next phase, and Waverly would be lying if she said she didn’t feel for the agent

“Hey Nicole… you wanna come and get a drink with me? We could just… you know… be normal for a while?”

Nicole turned back and looked at the brunette for a moment, seeming to take the smaller woman in for the first time

“I would really love that” the redhead said with a sigh that seemed to relax her shoulders. 

Waverly smiled so wide it couldn’t help but be infectious and Nicole was soon matching it. They walked down the street and towards an Irish bar on the corner. It had a green neon light and as they got closer they could hear the a couple of fiddles and a piano being played-if they hadn’t been standing outside listening to it, they both would have said there was no way such a stereotypical bar existed in their city-but yet here they were, standing in a doorway about to open the doors to music, Guinness and an awful lot of drunk people-and looking at Nicole, Waverly suspected this was exactly what her companion needed

 

***

 

They managed to grab a booth at the back of the bar-Waverly insisting she go up and get the first round. Nicole leant back against the booth as the brunette disappeared into the crowd, closing her eyes and allowing herself to relax. She didn’t want to admit it, but this life was starting to take its toll. Bobo was as intense as anyone could be, and it was exhausting. Nicole had risen through the ranks relatively quickly-proving herself time and again when getting him away from situations and being the back-up he needed. She had kept away from the drugs-which was something Bobo respected and she had a good head for business. After all, it had been her idea to merge the three biggest gangs in the county and reap the rewards 

Yep, Bobo had no idea that his second in command and his most trusted advisor had been playing him for three years. And it was soon to come to a head. The plan was to get this first shipment done and out of the way smoothly, so all three gangs could relax a little in time for the second exchange. And it would be the second exchange where they would be busted. Lucado had been meticulous in her handling of Nicole, and in the planning of the inevitable set up-all Nicole had to do was keep this up for another three months, and it should all be over. 

She was brought out of her thoughts by Waverly returning with a tray of drinks and a huge smile.

That smile. 

Nicole was pretty convinced Waverly could ask her to do anything and she would give it a go. The woman was infectious-and not necessarily in a good way. She smiled and flirted her way through the club and had everyone eating out of the palm of her hand. Including Nicole. But it was the attention Bobo was still paying her that made Nicole feel uneasy. She had never dated anyone in their circle before, so was unsure if it was the lesbian thing or just a Waverly thing. She suspected the latter. Bobo was many things, but he had never displayed any interest in her love life before-which meant it must be Waverly-and looking at her now, all perfect hair and innocent smiles, Nicole could see why. 

A huge glass of Guinness was placed down in front of Nicole along with three shots of whisky. The redhead looked at the drinks and then towards the woman responsible for them

“You look like you need it” was all Waverly said by way of an explanation. She removed her jacket and scooted in next to Nicole, throwing her coat into the corner and turning her body to face Nicole

“To weekends away” Waverly said as she raised her first shot of whisky. Nicole smiled and followed suit. They threw the amber liquid back and then grimaced as it went down

“Jesus that’s awful” Nicole said through her teeth

“It really is…” Waverly replied as she hit the table with the palm of her hand “But I’ve paid for them now, so we’re drinking them”

Nicole looked mortified, which apparently was amusing because it brought out the most beautiful sound Nicole had ever heard. A genuine belly laugh from Waverly Earp.

“Look at you all pouty” Waverly teased “That cute face isn’t going to get you out of this… come on gangster, drink up”

Nicole blinked twice and then watched Waverly throw another shot down her neck. 

Yep. This woman is going to kill her. 

“That’s twice you’ve called me cute” Nicole said through a cough that had only happened because of the cheap liquor she was being forced to consume

“You are cute” Waverly said with a shrug. She picked up her pint of Guinness and took a long sip

“Have you been here before?” Nicole questioned 

“Why?”

“You seem to know what you’re doing…”

“I dated an Irish girl once, she taught me everything I know” Waverly said with a wink. Nicole once again found herself coughing as she took a long pull from her stout. Waverly cackled and rested her elbow on the back of the booth “So seriously… how you doing?”

Nicole sighed and turned her body in to face the brunette-she figured she may as well be honest with someone for the first time in over three years 

“I’m not feeling fantastic… There’s something off with Bobo, and I can’t put my finger on it”

“It’s me” Waverly said as she propped her head up on her hand, leaning it on the back of the booth

“Well maybe… I don’t know… he’s never been leery before you know, like I’ve never felt he’s thinking about me with women… it makes me feel so uncomfortable”

“Well look at it this way, he’s not thinking about YOU with women, he’s thinking about ME with women-you’re probably not even in the fantasy he’s cooked up” Waverly replied “he’s objectifying me-and he’s curious as to why you and not him I think”

Nicole nodded her head in agreement “I guess it’s been so long since I’ve had to deal with that sort of bullshit, I’d almost forgotten what it was like… it bothers me-the way he looks at you bothers me” 

Waverly tilted her head and a hint of a smile played on her lips. They were silent a moment, taking each other in almost like it was the first time

“Tell me something about yourself” Waverly asked suddenly

“What do you want to know?” Nicole evaded

“I want you to join in a conversation with me that doesn’t consist of me asking you things and you avoiding answering… I don’t know, ANYTHING…”

Nicole took a drink of her Guinness and contemplated what Waverly had just said. Maybe this would all be easier if she opened up to Waverly and let her in a little bit. She had been warned when accepting the undercover role that she could lose herself if she wasn’t careful and Nicole could see exactly what was meant by that. So she took a deep breath and began

“Never Nicky, always Nicole-or sometimes Nic, but only very occasionally and by the right person… I had a cat called David, whom I loved and my ex-wife took away from me in the divorce-despite the fact she didn’t really like him. I have parents I don’t speak to, a sister who tries to mediate but never quite manages it, and I am, unsurprisingly married to my job” Nicole replied “I love reading-particularly historical fiction-I’m fascinated by English history-the whole Plantagenet and Tudor era I find completely thrilling. I love art, although I can’t remember the last time I went to a gallery. I used to go the theatre every other week, but that’s stopped now, and I can’t remember the last time I kissed someone that wasn’t due to a cover up at work…” 

Waverly sat quietly and listened, occasionally sipping her drink as the redhead chatted quietly. She looked towards the brunette to indicate that she was done and that it was Waverly’s turn to share

“Always Waverly-or Waves to those I love. My sister calls me baby girl and it fills my heart with joy whenever I hear it. No ex-spouse, pets or parents-and that’s too long a story to go into right now-I can’t bear sports and love museums-and galleries actually-and I read on average five books a month-but that’s assignment dependent. Was starting to see a guy at the district attorney’s office-but I already know it’s not going anywhere, and I had a wholly unexpected, completely beautiful kiss at work last week I’m pretending not to think about”

Nicole smiled and nodded her head in agreement “Yeah… sorry I ambushed you into that”

“Don’t be-it was necessary” Waverly said with a shrug “but I do think we need to set some boundaries”

“I thought we already had” Nicole answered, confusion lacing her voice

“I mean physical stuff… I feel like we need to stop being so awkward around each other… Like, I’m a tactile girlfriend, so I’m used to leaning into people I’m with and holding hands and stuff-so this all feels a little… unnatural to me” Waverly continued

“Unnatural?” Nicole said with a frown

“Oh for God Sake-not like THAT” Waverly replied with an eye roll. Nicole grinned to let the brunette know she was joking

“I actually agree-I think we need to be more comfortable with each other-but I don’t know what your limits are… I mean, up until a minute ago I assumed you had a boyfriend”

“Why would you assume that?” Waverly questioned 

“Are you kidding? Waverly, have you seen you? You’re stunning-I was sure you’d have someone at home waiting for you” Nicole said honestly. 

Waverly smiled and tilted her head “You can be very charming”

Nicole laughed and shook her head “That is not my intention… I just mean I think you’re right-we’re supposed to be sleeping together after all so we should know stuff about each other…”

“So for the sake of clarity, you can kiss me, touch me, hold me-whatever you need to do to keep up this pretence-I know how difficult this must be for you, and the last thing I want you to do it to be worried about how I’m feeling-we’re all good Nicole, okay?”

“Okay, thank you-and likewise… I know it’s more difficult for you to gauge, but how about I’ll throw you a look if it’s not okay? Usually if we’re in the bar it’ll be fine-it’s just if I’m with Bobo or talking to someone alone”

“What about women? Last week, had you been my actual girlfriend, I would have staked my claim the minute I saw that woman flirting with you-I don’t want there to be any confusion” Waverly asked

“Well how about I make sure you’re not in a position to act jealous?”

“That would work I guess-as long as you don’t mind… I don’t want to cramp your style…” Waverly teased

“Waves, it’s been so long since I’ve had a woman interested I don’t think I HAVE any style” Nicole joked. Waverly tilted her head again and pursed her lips as she smiled

“Happier?” Waverly asked

“I think so… it helps knowing a little more about you too-thank you” Nicole said genuinely

“Okay, well I haven’t told you the biggest thing about me-the thing anyone that comes into contact with me knows…” Waverly said with a twinkle in her eye. The musicians had started playing again and the room had become louder than before

“What?” Nicole asked as she leant in to hear Waverly’s answer

“I love to dance-and I do it whenever I can… come on…” the brunette replied as she grabbed Nicole’s hand and pulled her on to the makeshift dance floor in the main bar area. Nicole at first tried to resist-but it was futile. Waverly beamed at her as she wrapped one hand around Nicole’s neck and the other grabbed Nicole’s hand. They began to move quickly to the music and as the music got even louder and the singing became more out of tune Nicole allowed herself to relax and to have a night off for the first time in what was probably three years


	6. Chapter 6

Nicole woke the next morning knowing two things. One. She needed that night out more than she would ever care to admit. Two. When it came to drinking, NEVER try to keep up with Waverly Earp. They had drank, danced and been very, very merry for the rest of the evening-falling out of the bar in the early hours and laughing all the way onto the street and to Nicole’s apartment. They had stumbled into her bed-both too drunk and too exhausted to worry about the awkwardness of it all-Nicole had just about managed to throw a t-shirt and a pair of shorts at the brunette before dressing in similar and passing out

She shifted and felt a body next to her, long brown hair shielding the face that was obviously Waverly’s

“I need pain killers” the brunette mumbled

“Me too… stay there, I’ll grab some” Nicole said with some difficulty. She huffed as she sat up and put her hand to her head “Fuck me I’m hung over”

Waverly just harrumphed in reply. Nicole got up slowly and walked into her kitchen. They had, for some inexplicable reason, ended up at the apartment Bobo supplied for Nicole. She was reaching for two glasses when there was a pounding at the door. Nicole frowned and shuffled over, opening it up to reveal Bobo standing outside looking less than impressed

“Morning” Nicole muttered

“Where the fuck have you been?” Bobo spat

“Here…” Nicole said confused “Why? What’s up?”

“Why is your phone off?” Bobo barked

“Sorry Bobo, that was my fault” Waverly said from the bedroom doorway, looking a lot more alive than she had a moment ago

“Waverly…” Bobo said sounding a little surprised “I apologise, I didn’t realise you’d be here”

“That’s okay, I’m just going to grab a shower and then head off-leave you to your day” Waverly replied easily

“What are you doing tomorrow?” Bobo asked as Waverly started to walk back into the bedroom

“You mean other than work tomorrow night? Nothing I don’t think…” the brunette replied

“Nicole is finding a band to cover you guys on Saturday-but why don’t you do that for Friday as well and then you two can join Rita and I for dinner at the house and then help prep for the party Saturday morning?” Bobo said-directing the question solely to the smaller woman

“That sounds really fun, I’d love to-as long as that’s okay with you babe?” Waverly replied without a seconds thought. 

Nicole cleared her throat and smiled at her boss “Sounds great”

Waverly disappeared for a shower and Nicole flicked on her coffee machine, offering a cup to Bobo as she padded around her kitchen trying to look less hung over than she was. 

“So what’s up?” Nicole asked the man sitting at her kitchen table

“Andy seems spooked… He’s suddenly nervous about the weapon pick up on Saturday night and we need to go and see him and reassure him” Bobo said with a sigh “Are you sure we can trust him?”

“As much as we can afford to trust anyone… He want’s the gear, but it’s a lot of money-he might be bothered about that…” Nicole replied

“Hmm…” Bobo mused “You think so?”

“Could be… he wouldn’t be the first man to balk at the cost and need assurances…” Nicole reasoned “We’ll go and see him and remind him of his commitment” 

Waverly appeared looking even more refreshed than before and Nicole couldn’t help but be annoyed at how unaffected she seemed to be from their drinking. She walked into the kitchen and reached for Nicole’s coffee, taking a large sip before grabbing Nicole’s car keys from the surface and turning to the two others sitting at the table

“Thanks so much for letting me take your car-it’s a God send” Waverly said. Nicole had left it by the subway near the Irish bar, so Waverly would have to go and pick it up-something Nicole had totally forgotten about-and not for the first time that morning, Nicole was relieved Waverly was as quicker thinker as she was

“Of course” Nicole replied with a smile “I’ll walk you to the door”

“See you later Bobo, have a good day” Waverly chimed happily as she walked out of the kitchen and to the door. Nicole followed her, aware the open plan aspect of her apartment meant Bobo would be able to watch and hear their interaction. 

Waverly put one hand on the door and then turned to the redhead “Thank you for last night” she said quietly 

“Thank YOU” Nicole said sincerely. Wavery glanced over Nicole’s shoulder to see Bobo watching them

“It was everything I wanted…” Waverly said seductively before pulling Nicole in for a kiss “I’ll see you tonight”

Nicole nodded her head in agreement and opened the door for the brunette

She returned back to Bobo and sat back down

“So we’re going in my car then?” He said with a smirk

“Shit… sorry, she needs to do some jobs all around the city today so I said she could have the car… didn’t realise we’d need to use it” Nicole said suddenly

“She’s got you pretty whipped” Bobo stated with a smile 

Nicole looked sheepish and then smiled at the man in front of her “You’ve seen her right?!” 

“Can I ask you a question?” Bobo asked. Nicole nodded her head at the man in front of her

“Does she taste as good as she looks?”

Nicole was momentarily startled by the question-Bobo had never been so crass with her before

“What kind of fucking question is that?” Nicole snapped. 

Bobo laughed and shook his head “So THAT’S the line… I’ve been trying to figure out how far I can push you… its interesting to see you with someone Nicky, She seems like quite a girl”

“She is… and don’t ever ask me that again-its disrespectful as fuck” Nicole said as she stood up

“I’m sorry Nicky” Bobo said through a laugh-his hands up in surrender and his smile wide

“Is that why you’re watching us all the time-trying to see if I minded my boss was as creepy as fuck?”

“Guilty as charged-don’t get me wrong, she’s easy to look at-but I thought you’d have snapped by now…”

“That’s so unbelievably weird Bobo, even for you” Nicole replied

“Hey, I’ve never seen you with anyone before-I don’t know what I can and can’t say to you-I was just scoping out parameters”

“Consider it scoped” Nicole said sternly “And stop looking at my girlfriend like she’s your next meal”

Bobo laughed again but nodded his head in agreement “I never wanted to make her uncomfortable-only you… I’ll apologise to her later-how about that?”

Nicole huffed and stood up “You better-or I’m telling Rita… now I’m going for a shower-you just stay out here and THINK about what you just did” Nicole said with a slight smile. 

She walked into the bedroom and closed the door, shuddering at what Bobo had just done. Knowing he was trying to rile her alleviated her concerns somewhat-but that sort of talk was never something her and Bobo engaged in. She had heard him wind others up in their gang-and some of the stuff Doc had to endure about Rosita was down-right disgusting, so really, she shouldn’t have been surprised at his teasing-but she was relieved to get into the shower and wash that conversation off her body

 

They pulled up to what appeared to be a disused carpet warehouse, but was, in actual fact, home to the cities most notorious casino owner, Andreus Falco, and his bunch of ex-militia cronies. Nicole had remembered the first time she and Bobo had walked into the place-getting patted down and treated with suspicion and dislike. It had taken two years of meetings and the odd trade to get to a position of mutual respect for each other. Bobo had wanted to offer a couple of Judges in his pocket-who were partial to a card game-somewhere for high stakes poker games to take place. There was no way Bobo could arrange something so obviously Falco’s business and not include the gang leader-so Nicole had suggested a meet. A sort of ‘you scratch our back, we’ll scratch yours’ type of set up. Falco hosted the poker nights, Bobo brought the high profile clientele and in return, Bobo at first promised introductions to powerful men you could buy off and corrupt law enforcement, and once that relationship was established, he moved on to promising some VERY classy automatic weapons. 

This was where The Revenants came in. They had contacts in the US that could ship out military standard weapons at a discount price-the motorcycle gang weren’t interested in weapons-they were interested in drugs-which was Bobos territory. Nicole had managed to convince Bobo that if he approached Michael Irving, head of the Revenants, and offered him drugs in exchange for weapons, and then sell the weapons on to Falco for a not extortionate rate, he would be able to make a bit of money, shift some gear and create a network between the three gangs. It had taken long negotiations, a lot of work and several high pressured meetings to get to this point-and it was THIS point Nicole had been working towards. If they managed to pull this off, Lucado and her would be responsible for the complete decimation of three of the biggest crime families in the county. There was a lot riding on these next couple of months, and Nicole had to maintain her status within these negotiations perfectly. 

Having been met at the door and allowed entrance into the warehouse, Nicole and Bobo headed across the warehouse floor and up into the office on a mezzanine at the far end of the building. Andreus Falco was a very shrewd business man, but was one of the most paranoid men Nicole had ever met. He was convinced everyone was after him-which is why he surrounded himself with ex-military security and was why he wanted the weapons. His desire to kit out all of men was not at all necessary-but to Falco, he couldn’t rest until it was done. The fact that Bobo could take advantage of that was a blessing in disguise

They shook hands and Bobo sat at his desk, Andreus signalling as soon as he was off the phone he would be with them. Nicole stood in the corner, her arms folded in front of her and focussed on the man with the gun to the side of her boss. Bobo looked relaxed as he played with the metronome sitting on the desk in front of him

“Apologies Bobo-we had a big winner last night” Andreus said as he settled back in his chair 

“Not at all” Bobo replied graciously “So what can I help you with Andreus?”

“I heard something yesterday… something very concerning…”

“About?” Bobo asked

“One of your boys… I heard you have a rat”

Nicole’s blood ran cold as she kept as still possible, grateful no-one could see how hard her heart was racing

“A rat? Impossible” Bobo replied indignantly 

“Maybe, but it’s a big risk I’m taking Bobo… I need reassurances…”

“Who?” Nicole said firmly 

“A piano player by the name of Doc Holliday… I hear he’s been talking to the wrong people”

Nicole laughed lightly “Doc Holliday? Please, it would be more likely Bobo himself was a rat than Doc-he knows nothing about this set-up”

“You seem very sure of that fact Ms Haught” Falco replied

“As sure as anything-he plays piano in my club for Christ Sake… He’s had nothing to do with this set-up. Have you ever met him?”

“No” Andreus replied

“Would you be able to pick him out of a line up?” The redhead continued

“No” Falco conceded

“Well then… You’ve met three of us. Bobo, Me, and Levi our driver-how could a piano player be involved in such a high profile deal?” Nicole said rhetorically “But I tell you what Andreus, let me look into it-if we find anything, you can rest easy he will be dealt with affectively” she finished confidently. 

Bobo smiled at the man in front of him and stood “Trust me Falco, if he is dirty, we will flush him out”

Falco appeared to be satisfied with their assurances, and Nicole and Bobo managed to keep up the façade long enough to say their goodbyes and get back into Bobo’s car-where Levi was dutifully waiting for them.

“What the fuck was that about?” Bobo seethed as soon as the doors were closed and Levi was driving away

“I have no idea” Nicole said calmly “but losing your shit before we’ve had a chance to look into it isn’t going to help anyone”

“A rat Nicole… If ever there was a time to lose my shit, it’s right now”

“I disagree-the time to lose your shit is when its proved RIGHT that there is one… right now we have the paranoid ramblings of a rival crime boss to base that theory on-and I, for one, think all our boys deserve the benefit of the doubt until we have had a chance to look into it…” Nicole reasoned. Whilst her voice remained steady and calm, she was feeling anything but inside. This was catastrophic news. Someone was talking-and whoever it was, wasn’t on Bobo’s payroll

“Look, drop me at the club and let me do some digging-if there’s a rat, you know I’ll find him” 

Bobo gave a steely look to the redhead and paused for a beat before looking her dead in the eye “Will you now”

Nicole returned the stare “The fuck does that mean? What, you don’t trust me now” she asked. She was playing a very dangerous game and knew this could backfire monumentally if she didn’t pitch it just right

“No of course not” Bobo snapped “Just get it looked in to”

“Of course” Nicole replied after a beat, seemingly calming the man beside her-if only for a while

 

As soon as she was back in the club, Nicole retrieved a burner phone from a safe she had concealed behind a bookcase in her office. She typed out a quick message to Lucado’s burner and then took the sim out, snapped it in two and placed it in her sock. She then wiped the phone clean of her prints and wrapped it in some old newspaper she kept in a drawer, grabbed her laptop, wallet and keys and walked to the back of the club and out onto the street, finding a garbage bin two blocks away and discarding the phone in there. It was an extreme measure, but one that had worked well for her and her handler for the past three years. The message was a sequence of numbers, that only she and Lucado could decipher. It was code for a meeting place in the hospital. She made her way towards the subway planning to train hop for half an hour before meeting Lucado at the safe location. Waverly still had her car-and her cell was turned off and in the glove compartment-giving Bobo the explanation that she and Waverly had agreed to no phones in the apartment so their first night together would be uninterrupted. He had shaken his head at her romanticism but had insisted she never do it again-and with what had transpired this morning, Nicole could hardly blame him.

Forty minutes later Nicole found Lucado in a coffee shop next to the radiology department in the city hospital. The redhead sat opposite her boss and let out a frustrated sigh

“They know Doc has been informing” the taller woman started immediately. I said I’d look into it, but I don’t know how I can get him out of this”

“We’ll get the tech guys to doctor data on his phone-prove he’s either been at the club, home or at his local diner… best we can do at short notice” Lucado replied, aware of the seriousness of the situation and the danger it posed “What about Waverly? How’s it going with you two?”

“Good I think-we spent last night together which helped ease the awkwardness”

“Nicole… I shouldn’t need to remind you that is a VERY bad idea when we are so close”

Nicole looked up at the blonde woman in front of her and frowned before realising what she was alluding to

“No, I don’t mean like that” Nicole assured “I mean we went out, had a few drinks and cleared the air on the physical aspect of this all-we were both awkward and unsure of boundaries-now we’re not… I don’t mean… honestly Lucado, right now, sex is the furthest thing from either of our minds”

“Good” Lucado replied “So what’s the plan for Saturday? Still on for the meet?”

“Yeah, so far we’ve managed to convince Falco to leave the Doc situation with us-Waverly and I are heading to Bobo and Rita’s tomorrow and spending the night with them”

“Is that a good idea?” Lucado asked sceptically 

“We didn’t really have a choice, he ambushed us at my apartment this morning and asked Waverly…”

“Why was Waverly at your place?” Lucado asked with a raised eyebrow

“We got drunk and stumbled there last night-although, I’m not too sure why we went to mine… it was a good thing-it cemented the relationship in Bobo’s eyes… And he admitted to staring to try and get a rise out of me”

Lucado looked incredulous for a moment before shaking her head “That’s disgusting”

“I know… what a guy right…” Nicole replied

“So… how you doing? Really?”

“We’re nearly there… just gotta keep going right?” Nicole shrugged. It didn’t really matter how she was doing-she just needed to get through this “It’s helping having Waverly there… I thought it would make things more difficult, but actually, she’s good. She’s quick to pick up on moods and saved me this morning with the car-I left it on the street by the bar we were in and she was a life saver in picking it up and making it seem like it had been planned all along-really, I can’t fault her…”

“That’s good… Okay, let me get the tech guys on the Doc thing and give me two hours and it’ll be ready to look in to-that should give you more than enough time right?”

“Should do, yeah… Okay, so I’ll let you know how the weekend goes when we get back to the city?”

“Great… Keep going Nicole, you’re a credit…” Lucado said sincerely. Nicole nodded and stood up, shooting a smile at her boss before disappearing into the corridors of the hospital and out onto the street


	7. Chapter 7

As Nicole turned off the road and headed up a long driveway lined with lush green trees and a crisp well-tended lawn, Waverly couldn’t help but feel slightly homesick. She loved her job, and wouldn’t want to be back in the tiny town she spent her youth in permanently-but the country air and the long roads with nothing around for miles did bring a nostalgia to the brunette as she watched a large red brick house with several outhouses come into view

“I grew up in the countryside… I love it out here” Waverly said, almost to herself. Nicole smiled as the smaller woman talked, enjoying the easy conversation and the way the brunette sounded as she reminisced 

“Do you ride?” Nicole asked as she slowly pulled up in front of some stables and stopped the car

“I haven’t done for years… I’d like to try it again though someday”

“In another life eh?” Nicole said with a sad smile

“One day…” Waverly replied with a wink “Come on you, lets go and see your creepy boss”

Nicole laughed as she undid her seatbelt and opened the car door “He has at least apologised”

“That doesn’t make it better” Waverly retorted as she walked to the back of the car and opened the truck of Nicole’s black SUV. The sun was beating down on them and Waverly looked effortlessly beautiful in a pair of cut off denim hot pants and a tight white vest top. 

Nicole reached the back of the car and took their weekend bags out, she too had dressed casually in a pair of cut off linen trousers and a loose fitting v neck olive green t-shirt. Both women had sunglasses on and as they walked towards the front door with smiles on their faces-anyone would be forgiven in mistaking them as a couple on a country retreat

The large red door flew open and a tall woman in her fifties greeted them. She had short salt and pepper hair that was styled to perfection and wore a long red summer dress that floated all the way down to the wedged sandals she was wearing. Nicole put the bags down and smiled at the elegant woman in front of her

“Come here and kiss me immediately” the woman said with a husky voice, a New York accent and with so much confidence Waverly couldn’t help but feel slightly envious

“Rita… not in front of my girlfriend” Nicole replied with a smile

“Had to break my heart didn’t you Haught” Rita retorted and then grabbed Nicole by the collar of her tee and pulled her in for a short kiss on the lips “God you’re gorgeous”

Waverly couldn’t help but clear her throat 

Nicole blushed furiously and Waverly could swear the tips of Nicole’s ears had even turned red

“Rita, this is my girlfriend, Waverly Gibson. Waves, this is Rita Svane, Bobo’s wife” Nicole said, trying to steer the conversation away from Rita’s incessant need to embarrass her

“Don’t mind me sweetheart, I’ve never been able to keep my hands off her” Rita said with a wink to the redhead

“I don’t blame you” Waverly replied with a smile as she ran her fingers down the pale arm in front of her and locked then them with Nicole’s who squeezed slightly and looked down at the woman beside her

“Oh God you two are going to be so fucking cute aren’t you… well come on then, lets get you in and settled before Waverly and I head off to the town to get cocktails”

Waverly laughed at the woman in front of them and then allowed herself to be led by Nicole through the doorway and into a huge hallway. Bobo appeared from the room on the left wearing a pair of long baggy shorts and the brightest Hawaiian shirt Waverly had ever seen

“Ladies…” he greeted with his arms open wide and a smile so wide Waverly could swear she could see all his teeth “Isn’t this weather beautiful?”

“It certainly is” Waverly replied with a smile

“I hope you brought your swimmers Waverly” Bobo said 

“Bobo… what did we agree” Nicole said sternly. 

Bobo laughed and raised his hands in surrender “I know, I know, I’m just messing with you Nicky, you know that… my apologies Waverly-in an attempt to get under your girls skin-I think I may have made you uncomfortable… forgive me?”

Waverly looked up at Nicole and locked eyes with the redhead before turning and grinning at the man to their left “So I heard… you did creepy very convincingly Bobo” she replied with a teasing lilt to her voice

“It’s a skill of his” Rita said from behind them “and don’t call her Nicky, you know she hates it”

Waverly felt Nicole squeeze her hand again and turned back to look at the woman beside them

“Where are we staying?” Nicole asked

“Your usual room sweetheart” Rita replied, indicating to the stairs

“We’ll just go and get settled” 

Waverly was once again led by the taller woman at her side further into Bobo’s house and up the stairs in the hallway. Both women were aware they were being watched, but this time it was by Rita, who was smiling as they disappeared up the stairs and into a guest bedroom at the far end of the corridor. 

As soon as the door was closed, Waverly was taken by surprise as Nicole pulled her in and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She responded immediately but wrapping her arms around the taller woman’s waist and squeezing her tight

“You okay?” Waverly asked after a moment.

Nicole took a few beats to answer, eventually resting her chin on the top of Waverly’s head and nodding

“Yeah… I guess you’ve been around me for approximately two minutes and already you ground me…” 

“That’s a nice thing to hear” Waverly replied, pulling Nicole closer and resting her head on the taller woman’s chest

“I’m glad you’re here Waverly Gibson”

“Me too” Waverly hummed in agreement pulling away and looking Nicole in the eye. 

Nicole leant down and kissed Waverly lightly on the lips “Thank you” she said with a smile that showed off her dimples. She then let go of the smaller woman and walked towards the bed, placing their bags on top and opening up her case. Waverly watched Nicole for a moment before joining her at the luggage and unpacking the few things she had brought with her. Nicole unzipped the suit carrier and took out Waverly’s dress for tomorrow night along with her standard dark blue, form fitting, pin striped suit and waistcoat with a lilac shirt and tie. 

Waverly had thought many things about Nicole Haught before she knew who she really was, and many things after the revelation, but the one constant in those thoughts had been how well Nicole wore a suit. You would have to be dead inside to not be drawn to the woman’s elegant frame and the confidence she exudes.

They unpacked quickly, chatting about the plans for the rest of the day and the aforementioned cocktails Rita had spoken about. Nicole was as in the dark as Waverly, but assumed it was Rita’s way of getting them out of the house so Nicole and Bobo could attend to some business. Nicole had managed to convince Bobo that it was Andreus’ paranoia playing tricks on them rather than Doc being dirty-she had the falsified data to ‘prove’ it. But there was still the details for tomorrow night to go through-Waverly knew only the barest of information-the hand over was happening tomorrow night and the party was a cover for it-and if she was being honest, that’s all she really needed and wanted to know. This was very much Nicole’s gig-she was there as back-up and support for the redhead-and she would spend this weekend, watching, learning and doing exactly as she was told

 

Rita hadn’t been kidding when she’d declared ‘cocktails in town’ for her and Waverly. They had sat in the garden and chatted as a foursome, but eventually Bobo stood and Rita took that as her cue to make herself and Waverly scarce

“I’m stealing your girl Nicole so we can talk about you” Rita teased as she finished off her wine and placed it back on the table

“Steal away… just don’t try and out-drink her… she’ll win every time” Nicole replied, throwing a wink towards the smaller woman as she spoke. 

Waverly smiled at Nicole and tilted her head slightly at the redhead before standing up and walking over to her. She ran her hands into red hair and bent down “Scandalous lies” she said with a grin before dipping down and kissing Nicole softly on the lips. She then stood and turned towards the older woman “Come on then lady, show me what you’ve got”

Rita laughed heartily and grabbed her purse from the table “Robert, Levi can take us can’t he?”

“Of course my love” Bobo replied easily

Rita linked Waverly’s arm with hers and pulled her round the side of the house and towards the car Levi was leaning against. The woman was easy company and clearly thought very highly of Nicole, so Waverly found the conversation flowed freely, and if she wasn’t so acutely aware of their task this weekend, Waverly would be forgiven for finding herself actually enjoying her weekend so far

They pulled up outside a small redbrick bar called ‘The Lodge’. It had high tables and chairs outside in the sunshine and Rita insisted Waverly get comfortable whilst she disappeared to get the menu and use the bathroom. Waverly’s phone chirped and she smiled when she saw Nicole had text checking everything was okay. Waverly was smiling down at the screen when Rita appeared and once the brunette had explained it was just Nicole checking in, Rita insisted they take a selfie and send it on to the redhead. 

Once the drinks were delivered, Rita sat back in her chair and fixed Waverly with a stare “So tell me… how on earth did you manage to get Nicole Haught to admit her interest in you?”

Waverly laughed lightly “You’re the second person to ask me that… I don’t know really”

“I find it… intriguing I guess-I’ve known that girl for three years and she’s never even come close to having her head turned…” Rita continued. Whilst the smile on Waverly’s face never faltered, it became very apparent that THIS was why she had been taken out. Bobo may act all innocent in his teasing and looks, but beside him was a shrewd woman who had removed Waverly from the comfort of Nicole and was planning to get to the bottom of their relationship

“I bumped into her on the day of my audition with Doc and she just… she took my breath away. I have always needed to know a person before I enter into any kind of relationship with them-but I swear, had she of offered to take me to bed that afternoon, I think I would have gone…” Waverly said-and although she wouldn’t like to admit it right now-she wasn’t exactly lying. She smiled at Rita and watched her nod slightly “And then I noticed she always listened to us, you know… the boys would come in and sit at the back of the club and chatter away during our set, but Nicole never did. I felt like she was always watching, and I liked that-I felt seen by her”

“She’s certainly different when she’s around you… less guarded I think” Rita replied

“Don’t get me wrong, she made me work for it-well, I thought she was making me work-but turns out she just needed to talk to Bobo before accepting my dinner invitation”

“Where was your first date?” Rita asked. Although it sounded innocent enough, Waverly was now on full alert-unsure of what Nicole had told Bobo about their interactions

“We went to an Italian in the suburbs-I didn’t know it actually-once Nicole accepted the date, she kind of took the reins… but then, that’s how it is isn’t it” she asked rhetorically. 

“And how come you chose Jazz as an outlet?”

“Oh well that’s all to do with my mother-she was a singer in a piano bar in Banff-where I grew up-and I was around it all my life. Whilst everyone else my age were listening to angry girls with guitars, I was losing myself to Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday… I think their voices are timeless you know-it doesn’t matter if you listen to Ella at 25 or 75, she always sounds the same-that’s why she’s one of the greats-if not THE great… I guess I was born in the wrong era” Waverly chatted animatedly. 

Jeremy and her had created a back story before she started the undercover operation-and as soon as Waverly realised this had been altered slightly to exclude Waverly Gibson having a sister, she had insisted on seeing her profile so she didn’t make such a mistake again. 

“Does Nicole like Jazz?” Rita asked. The question completely threw her. She had absolutely no idea how to answer it and felt her heart beat pick up. Sure, you would expect her to like it-but then again, the business is just a front, so it could be something she tolerates. Waverly tried to think back to the apartment she’d woken up in the morning before-but could not recall a hint of music preference

“She says she likes it when I sing it” Waverly replied with a smile. 

Rita threw her head back and laughed loudly “She’s so fucking charming… Well I, for one, am delighted for you both… I like Nicole a lot-it’s nice to see her happy”

Waverly beamed at the older woman in front of her and raised her glass “Here’s to a great weekend, and hopefully the first of many”

“I’ll drink to that” Rita said as she knocked glasses with the brunette. Waverly knew she had gotten away with it for now, but something about Rita made her more aware than ever how high the stakes were this weekend


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as Rita and Waverly disappeared off into town, Bobo and Nicole turned their attention to finalising the plans for tomorrow night. Bobo’s idea of inviting high profile guests had really helped in the logistics of the evening. They were planning a high stakes poker game in the basement, and once it was up and running, Nicole would send a message to both Irving and Falco letting them know it was safe to arrive. They had moved their gear to the converted barn furthest away from the house and planned to do the exchange there-with a poker match including some very influential business men, politicians and a couple of judges happening in the basement, thus giving them the perfect list of witnesses to support them if anything untoward happened. 

Bobo had instructed a team of men to stay in the outhouse and keep watch over the drugs, so it was unsurprising to Nicole when she walked towards the building and saw two of their men standing outside, smoking and chatting easily. She nodded to them as she approached and thanked them as they opened the door for her so she could step inside. Once in, Nicole said hello to two more men situated inside-Falco wasn’t the only one paranoid at this point and the extra security had been Nicole’s suggestion once they had cleared out the cellar and shifted the drugs over to here

Nicole walked over to the crates in the middle of the room-they had hidden the drugs in wine crates and as she opened the first one and took out a large, wrapped up block of the white substance, she couldn’t help the smile that formed on her lips. This was it. If this worked out, the gang would be off the streets before the end of the summer. 

“Beautiful aint it” a voice said from behind her. Nicole stood and looked at the man currently charged with watching the gear from inside the barn. 

Nicole smiled and nodded her head “Certainly is… Clive has done well” she replied easily-Clive was their ‘pharmacist’ who was responsible for leading the team of workers that created their product. Nicole had been to his lab a couple of times-accompanying Bobo and making sure the security around them was up to scratch and she could tell he was an intuitive man. He rarely showed up at social gatherings, preferring to keep himself away from the business of distribution. He was a chemist-but a nasty habit and a wife with expensive taste had led him to Bobo. 

She stood up and glanced around the roof of the barn-making sure the camera’s were all pointing in the right directions. Bobo had installed camera’s through-out the property, including in all outhouses and outside areas. Satisfied they were all pointing the correct way, Nicole said goodbye to the men and made her way back towards the house. 

Bobo was by the pool, overseeing the build of a makeshift stage at the far end of the garden. The weather had been kind to them and was supposed to stay warm and dry for the entire weekend, so Bobo had ordered the construction of a small stage for the band and subsequent DJ and was busy instructing various men on where to hang festoon lighting and where to set up the sound mixer. Nicole stood beside him and surveyed his handy work

“Looking good” she said

“I think the bar should be on the patio-what do you reckon?” Bobo asked, never taking his eyes from the men at work in front of them

“Sounds great-you want me to start organising that?”

“Yeah… Did you go into the barn? What do you think?”

“I think it’s looking good-camera’s are all in the right place, but we should keep that team there until its all done tomorrow night-although I think they should masquerade as keeping watch over the cars as people arrive-we don’t want our guests to think they’re entering a war zone” Nicole joked

“Agreed… can you deal with that?”

“Of course-I think Danny, Otis, Richard and Nick should be our guys-we can trust them to remain calm and look the least suspicious out of our men-we don’t want to make it obvious this party is a cover”

“Good idea… do you like the stage?”

“I do-I think it’ll look great with those lights draped around it” Nicole replied. Bobo always needed reassuring when it came to hosting parties-usually Rita would be in the midst of this sort of arranging, but she and Waverly were still out and Nicole had no idea what time they were planning to return

“They’re on their way back” Bobo said, almost sensing Nicole’s thoughts

“Great… I’ll go and start getting the bar sorted-Waverly can test the sound when she gets back”

Bobo nodded his head and then walked over to the men now charged with installing the gazebo type roof over the stage, barking orders and demanding focus. Nicole quietly headed onto the patio and started to move the garden furniture off the paved area. Danny, a short stocky guy with a serious face and large afro came over to give Nicole a hand. She liked Danny and found that out of all the men she was surrounded by, he was the only one she spoke to about things other than work

They chatted amiably about the latest Raptors game and were half way through a discussion on the pros and cons of getting one of Bobo’s businesses turned into a sports bar when Nicole felt two skinny arms wrap around her from behind and a gentle kiss to her shoulder blades. 

“Hello” Waverly said dreamily. Nicole smiled apologetically at Danny and then turned in the brunette’s arms

“I take it you enjoyed your cocktails” Nicole replied with a raised eye brow 

Waverly leant into the taller woman and kissed her passionately “Take me upstairs” 

Nicole looked back at her startled and cleared her throat “Waverly, I’m not sure you’ve met Danny” the redhead said by way of an apology. 

She had hoped that would sober Waverly slightly and she would become less tactile, but Waverly merely moved the top half of her body round Nicole’s and smiled at the embarrassed man in front of her

”Hi Danny… I need to steal her-we won’t be long…” the brunette said with a wink before grabbing Nicole’s hand and leading her through the house. Nicole, unsure of what was happening dutifully followed the smaller woman up the stairs and into the bedroom they were sharing for the duration of the weekend. 

“Waverly what’s going on” Nicole asked as soon as the door was closed. 

Waverly quietly walked into the bathroom and started running the shower, she then walked back over to Nicole, kissed her soundly, looked her in the eye and said “Come and take a shower with me”

Nicole wasn’t speechless often. But she found herself unable to find words at that moment.

“Waves… I’m not sure that’s a great idea”

“Of course it is-no one will miss you, come on…” the brunette replied before grabbing Nicole by the wrist and dragging her into the bathroom. She closed and locked the door and took off her shorts and vest top-leaving her in just a white bra and matching underwear. 

Nicole’s mouth went dry as Waverly stalked forward and whispered “trust me” into her ear before opened the door to the walk in shower and standing inside, still in her underwear

Nicole caught on to what was happening, so quickly removed her trousers, t-shirt and sneakers and joined the brunette in the shower, towering over the smaller woman as she adjusted the temperature

“I realised pretty quickly I was being taken away to be pumped for information and figured until we’ve done a sweep of the room for bugs, we’re not safe to talk openly” Waverly said as soon as Nicole had joined her “Sorry, I know this isn’t ideal”

“It’s fine… are you okay?” Nicole asked

“Yeah… she’s very interested in you-she wanted to know how I’d managed it, where we went on our first date, what it’s like to be on your arm, whether you talked about your family, what I think of your work… I mean, I got grilled -she even asked me whether you like jazz”

“What did you say?”

“I said you do when I sing it” Waverly replied

“Sounds like something I’d say” Nicole laughed as she nodded her head “Well done… Rita is a lot more savvy then people tend to give her credit for-you did the right thing letting me know… what did you say about the other things?”

“I said you barely mentioned your family-but that I hadn’t really asked, that we don’t really talk about your work. I told her about the Italian, but said I didn’t know where it was as you’d taken over arrangements the minute you agreed to go out with me and I said you were a charming and attentive girlfriend and that you’re as good as she’s imagining in bed”

Nicole blinked at the last bit of the statement “Okay… well it sounds like you covered it well-good job Waverly”

“Thank you… but now I’ve just realised I’m wearing white and its very… exposing” Waverly said with a smile

“I’ll get out-you’re right though, I’ll do a sweep of the room and check-I think we’ll be okay, but its better to be safe than sorry” Nicole said as she opened the screen door and stepped out of the shower. She grabbed a towel and dried herself off, wrapping it around her body and unlocking the door. Once she was dried and changed out of her wet underwear and into an oversized t-shirt and some baggy shorts, Nicole started to check the room for bugs. She swept over surfaces, around lampshades and pictures, finally sweeping the wardrobes and under the bed. Satisfied there were no bugging devices, she rubbed the towel through her partially dripping hair and then sat at the foot of the bed waiting for Waverly to join her. 

The brunette appeared a couple of moments later with a towel wrapped around her body and another around her head

“All clear” Nicole said as she stood “I’ll just hang these up and then get out of your hair”

“You can’t leave yet” Waverly stated

“Why?” 

“Nicole, I’ve just spent the last hour and a half telling Rita how brilliant you are in bed, you can’t disappear for ten minutes and expect her to think I’m telling the truth

“Waverly, I can’t just stay up here for the rest of the night-there’s stuff to do”

“Whose saying the rest of the night? Jesus Haught how good ARE you in bed?” Waverly teased “I’m just saying we need to wait for half an hour…”

Nicole huffed and threw herself back onto the bed, leaving her legs dangling off the end “Fine… let me know when an acceptable amount of time has passed”

Waverly chuckled as she padded around the room collecting various pieces of clothing and then disappeared to get changed. She re-appeared five minutes later wearing a short summer dress and her hair in a bun. Nicole sat up and smiled at the smaller woman who was now sitting at the dressing table applying some moisturiser

“So how good is good?” Nicole asked with a grin

“Don’t push your luck” Waverly replied, looking at the redhead through the mirror

“I’m curious… I mean, on a scale of one to ten, how much swagger should I have as I head back downstairs”

Waverly placed the lip gloss she was applying back down on the counter and swung round to face the redhead “I’d say a 9 point five”

“So room for improvement?”

“There’s always room for improvement” Waverly said through a smile “Your ego doesn’t need massaging anymore-and certainly not by me”

“True enough… but if you’re going around telling everyone I’m incredible in bed, the least I can do is use it to walk a bit taller-these boys need dressing down a peg or two when it comes to bragging about their prowess in the bedroom-it’s nice to think its not me having to spin the lie”

“So it’s a lie is it? You’re not a 9.5?” Waverly countered with a raised eyebrow. Nicole stood up and walked slowly over to the brunette, placing her hands on either side of the dresser and leaning in to the smaller woman

“I would blow your mind” she whispered 

“I don’t doubt you for a moment” Waverly replied confidently 

Nicole laughed lightly and stood straight, looking at her watch and then back at the brunette “Right, that’s twenty minutes-as far as I’m concerned you’ve had two orgasms… I’ll see you downstairs”. She opened the door and strode out into the corridor and back towards the party planning. 

 

Nicole was doing her tie up when Waverly came out of their bathroom dressed in a deep red cocktail dress Nicole hadn’t seen her wear before. They caught each other’s eye in the mirror and smiled slightly before Nicole turned to look at the brunette 

“Remind me again what the deal is” Waverly said as she walked up to Nicole and used the mirror to help her put in some earrings

“Guests start arriving any minute now, and you guys start playing at 9PM. You’ll have a break at about 10 for half an hour-where I will come and find you and have you on my arm for the duration before you go back on for another hour. There is then a DJ who will play until 1AM, when we will start to encourage certain guests to leave-there will be a big poker game starting around then in the basement with various substances provided to keep them going all night, and once that’s up and running, we will head to the furthest barn and make the exchange-should be all over and in bed by 3AM all being well” Nicole said calmly “But listen… I need you to promise me something… no matter what anyone says, I need you to come up here once guests start leaving… I can’t have you around when the deal goes down-it’s too dangerous and I need to know you’re safe”

Waverly had turned to look at Nicole half way through her speech and was listening to her intently as she finished “Okay… but how will I know you’re safe?”

“You’ll know if I’m not” Nicole replied easily with a smile. “This isn’t the risky one-that happens next time-this is a handover of 35% of the gear just to make sure we can all trust each other-the bigger shipment will be next time-that’s when the stakes are high”

“This isn’t high stakes?” Waverly said with a chuckle

“They can always get higher Waves…” Nicole answered, matching the brunettes light tone. 

Waverly straightened Nicole’s tie and then held out her hand for Nicole to take “Well then, let the games begin” 

 

Waverly had checked the guest list with Nicole before they had told Bobo she would be able to join them for the party. There had been the risk that some of the guests would recognise her-especially if there were judges present-but they had been lucky, and hadn’t known anyone 

They descended the stairs and were met with smiles and nods from all they came into contact with. Waverly felt nervous as they walked around the kitchen and out into the garden where the bar and stage had been set up, but Nicole seemed totally at ease. She was smiling at everyone they passed and as soon as they reached the bar and were handed their cocktails, she turned to the brunette and leant forward, lightly kissing her cheek

“You look beautiful” the redhead said quietly-almost sensing Waverly’s unease. Waverly pulled away and smiled at the woman leaning casually against the bar beside her

“So do you… very, very much so” Waverly replied “So who is everyone?”

Nicole started to point out various business men and politicians scattered around the garden, whispering what their deal was and why they had been invited to such an event. Rita and Bobo were in the centre, surrounded by people and laughing at a man holding court beside them. Nicole informed Waverly he was an aspiring politician that Bobo was a financial backer for. He was running for office in the next election, and with the right men behind him, Nicole predicted he would be very successful 

“Do you need to mingle?” Waverly asked

“Not yet-I’ll do that once you’re singing-otherwise I’d have to leave you here and there are far too many men interested in you already-I would be foolish to expose you to them like that”

“I think I could handle them” Waverly replied wryly “After all, I’ve managed the last 25 years of my life without you by my side Nicole Haught”

“And I know you regret every one of those years”

Waverly laughed heartily and shook her head “So cocky…” she said easily. Nicole grinned back at her and took a sip from her drink, grimacing slightly as she tasted the overly sweet concoction. Rosita appeared on the patio and made a beeline for the two women, smiling as she stood the other side of Waverly

“Well isn’t this lovely” Waverly declared happily

“It is… I’ve never been here before, the place is beautiful” Rosita agreed as she accepted a cocktail from Sam and turned to the women beside her “Have you seen Doc yet?”

“No I haven’t actually” Waverly said surprised “Have you seen him baby?” 

Nicole shook her head “No, but I need to talk to him too so I’ll go and hunt him down”

She pushed herself off the bar and headed back into the house, asking various of their team if anyone had seen the cowboy as she went.

Nicole and Doc returned a couple of minutes later with Ollie and James in tow and the redhead made sure they all had a drink together before their first set started. Whilst the welcoming cocktail was popular with some, none of the band really liked the taste, so Nicole made sure Sam served them all quickly and they could have whatever they wanted before they started playing. Eventually making their way to the stage, the band were applauded as they picked up their instruments and did a quick vamp to check they could all hear each other-Waverly receiving a light peck to the cheek from Nicole before she joined her colleagues on the makeshift stage.

They had been more tactile than usual this evening, and Waverly was sure it was Nicole’s way of appearing relaxed and enjoying herself. She was happy to let Nicole take the lead and as she looked across the grounds at the faces waiting to hear them play, she found the dark, kind eyes staring back at her, encouraging them all that they could entertain with the best of them

Since being invited to play, the band had been working hard on more upbeat material and had branched out to a more Motown feel-Doc wanting to ensure they brought an exuberant atmosphere to the party. The set started with an upbeat version of ‘Heard it through the Grapevine’ and segued smoothly into some Dusty Springfield. Waverly was aware her voice wasn’t really suited to this style of music, but the crowd all seemed to enjoy them and before long the newly laid dance floor in front of their stage was filling up and people were singing along with their arrangements

Nicole remained at the back of the crowd, listening to the music and occasionally talking to some guests. Waverly gave an air of someone who enjoyed the attention and revelled in the music she sung, and as the first set come to a close, there was whooping and hollering from the crowd

If the first set had gone down well, it was nothing in comparison to the second. The extra rehearsals had been worth it as they were treated to exuberant applause at the end of the night. Waverly had played her part perfectly, and Nicole couldn’t help but smile as the brunette finished the last song and thanked the party for their enthusiasm. They left the stage and Waverly headed straight for Nicole-occasionally getting stopped and congratulated as she did so. 

Nicole leant in to the smaller woman and lightly kissed her on the cheek, aware of all the attention Waverly was now getting

“That was great guys, thank you” the redhead said to the band once they were all at the bar. 

Nicole smiled as Waverly couldn’t hide her happiness that it had gone down so well. The DJ started playing a Prince song and Rosita cheered loudly and raised her hands

“Come on Waves, let’s go and tear up the dance floor” the dark haired woman said enthusiastically. Waverly looked a little like a rabbit caught in the headlights but Nicole waved her off and insisted she enjoy the music with the saxophonist

Waverly did love to dance-but couldn’t help feeling there was a time and a place for it-and this was neither. She had hoped to remain by Nicole’s side until it was time to encourage people to leave-she wasn’t here to enjoy the party-she was here to assist, and as much as she liked Rosita’s company, she needed to be with the redhead. 

Far too many songs later Waverly managed to extract herself from the musician and head back towards Nicole, who was in conversation with Bobo and Rita. She approached slowly enough so Nicole could see her and give her an indication if it wasn’t a good time to interrupt-but as soon as the taller woman locked eyes with her, her face lit up and she signalled for Waverly to join them

“Excellent set tonight Waverly” Bobo said as soon as she was at Nicole’s side

“Thank you Bobo… a little different to what we’re used to playing, but I think we got away with it” Waverly replied with a smile. She felt Nicole’s arm snake around her waist and settled herself against the redheads side

“It must be very different for you-coming from a Jazz background” Rita asked. 

Waverly smiled at the woman and nodded her head in agreement “Totally, but I do love Motown too-I just don’t think my voice suits that type of music”

“You sure looked like you were enjoying yourself up there” Rita continued

“I did enjoy it, but I’ll be happy to get back to my usual pitch-it was too high for me tonight and my voice couldn’t have taken any more I don’t think”

“Do you need me to get you anything?” Nicole asked, concern laced in her voice

“No baby, it’s fine-I’ll be on honey and lemon all of tomorrow and I’ll use my steamer when I get home-it’s all good” Waverly assured. 

Nicole nodded and then turned back to the couple in front of them and was about to speak when the DJ started to play ‘Don’t it make my brown eyes blue’

“I love this song… Dance with me Nicole” Rita said suddenly. Nicole looked momentarily startled and turned to Waverly for guidance-watching as the brunette smiled and nodded her approval. Rita took Nicole’s hand and led her onto the dance floor, wrapping her arms around the taller woman and pulling her close

“Doesn’t it bother you?” Bobo asked from beside Waverly

“What? Nicole dancing with Rita? Not at all… does it bother you?”

“I learned long ago not to be offended by the choices my wife makes” Bobo replied “Would you like to dance Waverly?”

Waverly felt like the only possible answer she could give was yes, so she plastered on her smile, looked up at Bobo and said “I thought you’d never ask”

They glided around the dance floor-Bobo keeping a respectable distance between their bodies and chatting amiably about how he thought the party was going and whether Waverly thought people were enjoying themselves and it was almost like no time had passed at all when she felt a tap on her shoulder and Rita asking if she could cut in. Waverly stepped aside immediately and turned to find Nicole standing behind her, her hand out and her smile wide

“May I?” Nicole asked

“Of course” Waverly obliged, sliding her hands up Nicole’s arm and placing her other on the taller woman’s shoulder. Ella Fitzgerald’s voice rang out across the dance floor as couples navigated their way around one another

“How are you doing?” Nicole asked as soon as their bodies started to move to the music

“Okay… I’m glad that bits over though” Waverly answered honestly “How about you? You okay?”

“Yeah I think so… in two hours, it’ll all be over” Nicole replied with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. 

Waverly slid her hand into Nicole’s hair and manoeuvred Nicole’s head so their foreheads were resting against each other “It’s nearly done… You’re doing so well…” she whispered

“I haven’t done anything yet” Nicole replied just as quietly

“Yes you have… you have come so far-only a couple more hours like you said and it’ll all be worth it…” Waverly assured soothingly. 

Nicole nodded her head and looked Waverly in the eye “Meeting you, and having you here… it’s been the best thing to happen to me in a long time… Thank you Waverly”

Waverly returned the look and tilted her head slightly “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now Nicole” the brunette said. 

The song ended and the women pulled apart, both relieved they got a moment alone together. Before long, the DJ announced it was the last song of the night and Waverly watched as people began to drift away from the dance floor and car engines started in the distance

Doc walked over to Nicole and whispered something in her ear and she was unsurprised when Nicole turned to her and suggested she get herself to bed and Nicole would join her in a while. 

“Okay… just… don’t be too long” Waverly said suggestively to the redhead as she left her with the pianist. She said goodnight to various people as she went, and was soon in the bedroom her and Nicole were sharing and undressing into a pair of jeans and a hoodie she’d had since her college days. 

There was no way she was going to sleep-not until Nicole was beside her, and she felt powerless as she sat upstairs waiting-but she knew this was the only option. To do anything differently would just raise suspicion, and tonight, more than any other night so far in her career Waverly knew she had no choice but to do as she’s been asked. So she pulled a book out of her bag, settled on top of the comforter and started to read-the words not registering and her mind elsewhere


	9. Chapter 9

It had worked out beautifully. Nicole couldn’t have planned it better. As soon as guests started to leave, the poker game had gathered in the basement with Doc Holliday in charge-making sure deals were fair and the ante was put up on time. Nicole hated the fact drugs were supplied to all players, but that was their business, and if it kept the powerful men and women down there whilst their deal went on outside, then once again she would have to dig deep and allow it pass-seeing the bigger picture hurtling towards them

Nicole, Bobo and Danny headed towards the barn. There were two men still keeping watch outside, but their guests had arrived and they were all ready to make the trade. ‘The Revenants’ had pulled up just after 1AM in a truck containing wooden crates on pallets. Bobo and Irving had prepped that this would be how they’d pass the weapons over, and Bobo had invested in a small fork lift to ensure the merchandise could be moved quickly, quietly and most importantly, safely. The large barn doors had been pulled open and the two crates containing the weapons had been driven inside and placed in the centre of the space. 

Bobo’s men had then moved their wooden wine cases to the right side of the crates to make the swap as easy and quick as possible 

Nicole was standing in front of the now locked barn doors when Falco appeared with a couple of men. Irving was leaning against the work surfaces on the left hand side of the barn. Bobo was standing to the right of Nicole, with Danny to his left-they had all agreed to only three people from each organisation be present at the exchange. 

The barn itself was built out of red brick and boasted high ceilings and wooden beams. The security system had been checked by Nicole herself before they had walked over to the barn, and the main doors were kept locked whenever possible-all parties using the side door as an entrance into the meeting. 

Bobo walked into the centre of the room, facing Nicole and taking in the two other crime bosses to his left and right

“Gentlemen, lets make this quick shall we, it’s been a long night for all of us, and the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can make plans for the next” Bobo said with a smile. Irving started to move towards his first crate but was stopped when he heard Falco clear his throat and take a step towards the drug lord

“Not so fast gentlemen, I first want to talk about your leak Bobo”

“Not this again…” Bobo said irritably

“I told you, he’s clean” Nicole said stoically from where she stood

“What leak?” Irving said confused. Whoever was talking was clearly just on Falco’s payroll, which made discovering who it was slightly easier for Nicole

“Bring him here” Falco demanded “I want to see him… I want to look him in the eye and ask him for myself” 

Nicole found herself starting get anxious. This hadn’t been something they’d planned for. She prided herself on her ability to read people-and nothing about this situation was feeling right

“Absolutely not” Nicole said, still standing with her arms folded “I looked into this and it came up empty”

“I don’t agree” Falco argued “I have it on good authority he’s a rat… if he’s not, bring him to me and let me see for myself”

“Whose authority?” Bobo spat “If you’re going to come in here and accuse one of my men, I have the right to know where this is coming from”

“Come on Bobo, you know I’m not going to reveal my source… Now, you can go and get Mr Holliday, or I can leave, but we are not doing this deal without me seeing him” Falco said with such finality there was no room for doubt. 

If Bobo had his way, he would call off the deal-and Nicole knew that-but they were too far down the line. They had drugs to exchange for weapons they didn’t want and they needed the cash from the sale of the weapons to pay for the drugs and men he surrounds himself with. 

From Nicole’s point of view, all three gangs needed to be involved in this transaction, or all of her hard work would be for nothing. Three years of her life would suddenly look like extending further-and at this point, Nicole couldn’t fathom getting through another six months let alone any longer. She slowly looked between the three men in the room, noticing Irving was starting to fidget slightly at the delay, and realised if they didn’t move this along quickly, they risked losing the whole deal

“Look, lets send Danny to go and get him-he’s in the basement at the game and the sooner he’s here, the sooner we can get this done” Nicole said quietly

“I don’t like being ordered in my own house”

“I know, but look at it this way, if this goes down well tonight, you don’t even need to be here for the next one… Come on, lets just get this over with and get our money” the redhead reasoned. She knew she was playing with fire-but Doc was the best poker player she’s ever seen-if anyone could bluff his way out of this, he could. 

Bobo glanced at Nicole and nodded his head curtly, making his order clear. Nicole kept her breathing steady as she instructed Danny to go and find Doc Holliday and bring him to the group

“What the fuck is going on?” Irving barked “I’m not here to waste my fucking time Bobo…”

“Calm down, we can do our bit now whilst we wait for Doc” Nicole said firmly. She had moved back to her position in front of the doors and looked every bit as much in charge as any of them. Irving grunted his acceptance and took a crowbar from one of his men to open up the hammered down lid on the wooden crate. Bobo walked towards the weapons and let out a low whistle-he wasn’t a man impressed by guns, but even he could see the beauty in such machines 

What felt like twenty, but was probably only five minutes later, the door re-opened and Danny walked in with Doc close behind him-the latter with his tell-tale black Stetson on and his confident swagger

“What’s all this about Bobo” Doc said in his southern drawl “Lady luck was courting me at the table downstairs”

“Falco here thinks you’re talking to the cops…” Bobo sneered

“Me?” Doc scoffed “I am merely a piano player” he said indignantly 

“That’s not what I’ve heard” Falco replied “I’ve heard you’ve been talking…”

“Well I assure you sir, whomever you’ve got this from is playing you…” Doc answered confidently. Falco stood looking at Doc for a lot longer than anyone felt comfortable with

“Look me in the eye and tell me that” Falco demanded-though his voice was clear, his brow had started to sweat

“I am no snitch Mr Falco, I assure you, you can trust me-hell, I don’t even know what’s going on here-I stayed late for the poker game” Doc answered, as he walked towards the man, stopping as close as he could without causing disrespect. 

Nicole had to hand it to Doc, the years of poker playing had been kind to him and she was almost convinced herself by the aging cowboy. He was steady as a rock as he stared the man down, and she was about to step in and halt these proceedings when she was caught off guard by a gunshot going off and Doc Holliday’s body slumping to the ground. She swung round and locked eyes with Bobo, who was moving the gun back to his side and looking at Falco in the eye

“Satisfied?” the man said with an eerily calm voice. Nicole stood stock still, unsure what the hell had gotten into her boss

“The fuck do you think you’re doing Bobo?” Irving said from behind him. 

Hearing the voice shook Nicole out of her freeze and she was about to stride over to her boss and remove the gun from his hand when he swung round and looked at her

“He was a snitch Nicole, he covered his tracks well, but he was talking”

“What?” She said disbelievingly. She knew he was, of course she did-but she had done everything possible to cover for the man. Her worry now was that Bobo was aware of her involvement and was about to turn the gun on her too

“Okay, well then good call” She said calmly “Danny and I will sort this out afterwards, but in the interest of keeping our meeting moving along, shall we get on?” 

“Finally” Irving muttered as he started to open up the second crate

“Danny, open up our cases, lets show Michal our merchandise” Nicole ordered. She just needed to keep it together long enough to get this over with and then she could start to clear up the mess of Doc Holliday lying at Andreus Falco’s feet

“Shall we Andreus?” Bobo said

Nicole watched Danny struggle getting the first lid off the case of wine, so decided to join the smaller man and give him a hand. There had never been cause to shoot anyone before within the parameters of their business-it just wasn’t something that happened-the real gangsters left that to the imaginations of Hollywood, so it was no surprise to Nicole that the young guy had been shocked. She herself had killed three people in her career as an FBI agent-they had all been through self-defence but she would be lying if she hadn’t been affected by each one. Taking a life did something to you-and whilst Nicole knew she had been left with no choice, it was still something that reared its head during her frequent nightmares. 

She started to walk over to the young man when there was a huge explosion behind her, ripping the barn doors off their hinges and throwing Nicole to the ground. Gun shots rang out over her head as she desperately scrambled for cover. Just as soon as the shots started there was shouting from every angle and Nicole could only watch as an FBI swat team descended into the outhouse. Shouts of ‘FBI get on the ground’ filled the building and there was a ringing in her ears and a trickle of blood coming from the side of her head where she had landed on it. She shook her head and tried to stand, stumbling as soon as she got to her feet. The smoke that had initially filled the barn was started to dissipate and as she turned in search of Bobo, she felt her arms thrown back behind her and a pair of cuffs slapped onto her wrists.

Nicole automatically began to struggle free from the restraints, but it was no use, and as she felt her knee kicked from behind her and landed harshly on the floor her slightly foggy brain started to catch up on her. Watching the swat teams handcuff all those in the barn and drag them outside, Nicole did what she knew she had to do to get out of there alive. She kicked and screamed and made it nigh on impossible for the officer behind her to manoeuvre her over to the waiting armoured truck, catching sight of Bobo she shook her head and desperately tried to communicate with him that she had no clue as to what the hell just happened. 

“Don’t say a word…” Bobo shouted to her “I’ll get Phillip to you”

Nicole nodded her head in agreement as her and Bobo were thrown into the back of separate trucks and driven to different police stations on the outskirts of the city. Phillip was Bobo’s lawyer and had been responsible for keeping both Bobo and Nicole out of police stations for over three years. Her only hope now was that Lucado had planned this next bit out meticulously and she would be taken under federal care and placed in a safe house before the night was up

 

***

 

Waverly was coming out of the bathroom when she heard an explosion outside followed by shouting and hollering. She knew she should stay where she was, but fear got the better of her, so she grabbed her gun from its hiding place in the drawer next to her bed, checked its safety, tied her hair up, pulled on some sneakers and opened the bedroom door, heading down the corridor quickly with her gun tucked into the back of her jeans and covered by her hoodie

The shouting got louder as she approached the hallway and she could now make out the words ‘FBI’ and orders to ‘get on the ground’. Confused as to what the hell was happening, Waverly walked swiftly down the stairs and into the kitchen, looking to see if she could spot anyone she knew. There was a banging on the front door and Waverly went to open it but her eye caught the patio door gaping open and the silhouette of someone running across the back garden and into the field beyond. Unsure as to whether she should go after them, she heard another loud bang and the splintering of the front door. Waverly immediately raised her hands to indicate she wasn’t going to be any trouble and remained standing in the kitchen

“FBI on your knees” a masked man barked

“I have a concealed weapon in the back of my jeans” Waverly shouted back as she knelt down. She was surrounded by three others, pushed to the ground and hand cuffed as a group of armed men started a search through the house

“They’re in the basement” Waverly said as she was hauled up to her feet and her gun was taken away

“Shut the fuck up” the man said. Waverly shook her head and closed her eyes-she couldn’t say who she was for fear of breaking Nicole’s cover, so she just shrugged and kept her mouth shut. There was more shouting from outside and then the sound of car engines starting and pulling away from the drive

Sophia Lucado strode into the house and caught sight of Waverly in cuffs. She walked over to the man currently holding Waverly in place and addressed him, barely glancing at the brunette in front of her

“Has the sweep of the house been done?”

“Yes Ma’am” the guy replied, his hold never loosening “We have a group in the basement and a couple of guests, but as yet, no wife”

“Thank you, get this one over to seventeenth, they’ll be expecting a drop off” Lucado said dismissively. Waverly bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling. Seventeenth was her precinct.

She was led out to the front of the house and placed into a waiting police car. The officer responsible for cuffing her slammed the door and walked away, leaving Waverly to look across to the barn to see what the hell had happened. There were people everywhere and she could see a couple of men she didn’t recognise being led away to waiting police cars. She moved her head to see if she could take in anymore of the scene, and was about to try and move to the closer side of the car when the doors to the front opened and a couple of men got in

They started off towards the road and just as they got to the bottom of the driveway, a coroners van turned in and headed up towards the house 

“Was that a coroners van?” The brunette asked quickly, her heartrate picking up

“Shut up” one of the cops spat back. Waverly nodded her head and sat back quietly-she’ll get this guys badge number once she was back in her department and give him a lesson in respect-to Waverly, it didn’t matter what the person in the back was accused of-as officers of the law, they were duty bound to not show such contempt.

The drive into the city took a lot longer than Waverly thought it should-maybe it was the fact she was handcuffed and they were digging into her wrists, or maybe it was the concern for the redhead she’d been working alongside. Where was she? Who was she with? And what the hell had happened in that barn tonight?


	10. Chapter 10

Waverly was placed in the holding cells as soon as she was booked in-she wasn’t surprised no-one from the precinct recognised her, it was a busy inner city police station and as a cop she rarely saw anyone outside of her own department that she paid more than a passing glance to.

What felt like hours later she was permitted her phone call. She dialled her bosses direct line and sighed with relief when Nedley answered after three rings

“I’m down in the cells, I haven’t told anyone who I am, I don’t know what the hell happened and I don’t want to put… anyone at risk” she said as soon as she heard her bosses terse voice

“Leave it with me” he said in reply before hanging up

Twenty minutes later Randy Nedley appeared in front of her cell and demanded she be released into his custody in connection with a spate of drug offenses dating back eighteen months. Reluctantly, the duty sergeant allowed Waverly to be led upstairs by the captain and before she knew it, Waverly was sitting in Nedley’s office with the handcuffs off and a cup of coffee in her hand

“What the hell happened?” Waverly said as soon as he bosses door was closed 

“Lucado decided the only way to get you both out of there safely was by using the element of surprise” Nedley replied “She’d always planned to take them down on this first exchange, but didn’t want to bring Nicole in on it so the reaction was real”

Waverly took a sip of her coffee and processed the information just given to her-whilst it made total sense that Lucado would do something like that, it was taking a huge risk with Nicole and she felt apprehensive that the redhead had been caught out

“Where’s Nicole?” 

“I don’t know” Nedley replied honestly. There was a knock at his door and Xavier Dolls appeared, looking dishevelled and as surprised as anyone by the evening’s events

“You okay?” He asked his partner immediately. Whilst Waverly was a tactile person, the man in front of her was anything but, so she swallowed the urge to run into his arms and settled for a pat on the arm and a small nod of her head

“We need to keep you here for now until Lucado contacts us and lets us know the next step” Nedley said

“What the hell happened?” Dolls asked as he took the seat next to Waverly. 

Nedley caught him up quickly, informing them both that whilst he didn’t know too much, he did know that certain inner city precincts had been prepped that something was going down and cells were going to be needed for an FBI sting. Lucado was playing her cards very close to her chest, but Randy Nedley had seemingly gained the woman’s trust, so he knew what the basic outline would be and when it was planned for

“She’ll want to talk to you before you disappear” Nedley said “She’s asked you wait it out here until she gets over to you”

“What about Nicole? Does Lucado have a plan for her?” Waverly asked, desperate to know what will happen to the older woman

“If all went to plan, I believe they’ll be moving her to a federal safe house for the time being”

“And if it didn’t go to plan?”

“I don’t know Waverly, it’s not really my concern” Nedley said irritably

Waverly huffed out some air and sat back in her chair. Whilst she understood Nicole wasn’t her bosses priority, one of his team had been working incredibly closely with the woman, and Waverly was slightly disappointed that he was as dismissive as he was. She got up and stretched her legs, opting for a walk into the break room to grab some water and see if there was something in the fridge she could eat. Dolls followed her in and leant against the side as he watched her wander about looking for a distraction

“What you thinking?” the man asked from where he stood

“I’m thinking something is off… I don’t like not knowing where she is”

“Is that because of work or because of… something else?”

Waverly looked at him for a moment before answering “If you think I care about her because I want to fuck her you are woefully off the mark” she said harshly. 

Dolls held his hands up in surrender “I had to ask”

“No you didn’t” Waverly snapped “I just spent the better part of three weeks trying to help the woman pull this off, and Lucado has pulled the rug out from underneath her Dolls… I know these people, that trick she’s pulled might have worked as a ‘surprise’ tactic, but it just puts focus on the fact someone in the know is talking. Three people in his team knew about the meeting. Bobo, Danny, and Nicole-and the fact of the matter is, this whole sting means that to Bobo, one of the eight people in that room have talked… And THAT sits very badly with me… she’s at risk Dolls…”

“I know… Do you trust Lucado?”

“As much as I trust anyone at this point…” Waverly replied “I don’t NOT trust her”

“Okay then” Dolls said as he gently nodded his head. They returned to Nedley’s office and we’re told that Lucado had been in contact and let Nedley know she was heading to them with an update, so Waverly settled down on her bosses couch and resigned herself to waiting it out a bit longer before she found out what the plan was going forward. Lucado arrived thirty minutes later, a coffee in hand and a pensive look on her face

“Are you okay?” the woman asked as soon as she entered Nedley’s office

“I’m fine” Waverly answered as she stood to greet the older woman in front of her “How’s Nicole?”

“I’m going to see her as soon as we’re done here-but I wanted to come and thank you and officially tell you, you are no longer needed”

“So what the hell happened?” Waverly asked-trying, and failing, to hide her irritability

“We made a call” Lucado replied

“Whose we?” Waverly spat back

“Alright me… I made a call… Nicole needed to get out-it was becoming too much and both Falco’s and to some extent Bobo’s paranoia was becoming too erratic… They knew Doc was an informant and it was too risky to keep you both in there longer than necessary”

“What do you mean was?” Waverly said suddenly. Lucado sat down and indicated Waverly take the seat opposite her. The brunette waited a couple of beats before sighing and sitting down. Dolls was leaning on the wall behind Waverly and Nedley was beside him-his arms folded and his face stoic

Lucado took a deep breath and explained to the three police officers what had happened in the barn. The CCTV footage had confirmed Doc Holliday had been shot by Bobo Del Rey-and it was that gun shot that had been the deciding factor on conducting the raid there and then

“She was at too much of a risk Waverly, no-one wants a fatality, but I couldn’t risk her being in there any longer-someone is talking, and we need to figure out who…” Lucado reasoned

“Okay, so what happens now?” Nedley asked from behind his officers, Waverly quietly squeezed Dolls’ shoulder-he had worked closely with the guy for longer than anyone, and although Doc knew the risks, it was never good to lose an informant

“We have all gang members present in the barn in custody, we have Bobo for a murder charge and have the audio and camera footage of the deal being discussed-so in long term, your part is done and Nicole can break away from the cover and start her rehab back into the bureau-but short term, we’re missing Rita Svane and until we have her in custody Nicole Haught is still at risk” Lucado explained “I’m going to see her now and get her moved to a federal safe house where she will remain until we catch Mrs Svane and possibly up until trial-depending on how deep the leak goes”

“Will she be safe?” Waverly asked, feeling more than a little disappointed she wouldn’t get to speak to the redhead before she’s moved

“With us? Absolutely. I have my best agent working on it-Eliza Shapiro has worked alongside me for years, she is someone I can trust… and believe me Waverly, no-one wants Nicole safe more than I do and I’ll move her myself to make sure…”

Waverly nodded her head slightly “Can I see her before she goes?”

“Best not…” Lucado said after a beat “We’ll be over county lines before sunrise”

“Okay…” Waverly said, unsure what else she could say at this point

“Thank you for your service Waverly” Lucado said whilst standing up “Well, all of you-you have been integral over the last three weeks, and I know Nicole has found it useful to have you involved… We really appreciate it”

Nedley escorted Lucado through the department and out into the hall whilst Waverly and Dolls sat and digested everything they’d been told

“Sorry about Doc” Waverly said quietly

“Me too….” Dolls replied sadly “You okay?”

“Not really… I can’t shake the feeling something is off… I feel like she’s not safe Dolls, and I’m worried…”

“Maybe it’s just because you can’t talk to her” Dolls suggested 

“Maybe… I guess we’ll never know” the brunette shrugged

She rubbed her hands over her face and stood up “I’m going to start typing up my report-I want to get it down whilst its fresh in my mind”

“I’ll stick around too, maybe drive you home… I don’t like the thought of Rita being out there and you being on your own”

“She’s not the first criminal I’ll have pissed off Dolls, I’m sure I’ll be fine” Waverly replied kindly-she loved the guy in front of her-more so when his protective side came out

“Even so… Waverly, just let me do this okay…”

Waverly sighed, not wanting to admit what she was planning, but realising she had no choice “Okay, full disclosure… I’m going to write a letter to Nicole and drop it at her apartment… I just… I can’t leave it like this…”

“Too dangerous Waverly, you know that” 

“I know but… I’ve got to get something to her…” Waverly said “I can’t… I just…”

“Okay, tell you what, write your letter, give me the address and I’ll drop it off”

“First we’ve got to figure out what her real address is-all I know is it’s by the hospital…” Waverly replied sheepishly. 

Dolls put his hands on his hips and sighed, looking at the woman in front of him with an exasperated expression

“Fine… I’ll call Jeremy…”

Waverly looked at her partner in front of her and smiled slightly “Thank you… I’ll make myself useful and get us some coffee”

***

 

Nicole was pacing in a police cell somewhere in the city and feeling anxious. She had realised what Lucado had done as soon as her head had cleared and she was dragged outside and placed in the back of a police car. She was sore from the impact of the blast, she was tired from the lack of sleep and whilst she had initially been pumped up from all the adrenaline, she was fast becoming exhausted. Her cell door opened and one of Lucado’s deputies-a woman called Eliza Shapiro-entered with a man Nicole had never seen before. She smiled widely at Nicole and offered her hand

“It’s good to see you friend” Shapiro said “How are you doing?”

“Tired…” Nicole said with a pained smile 

“Nic, this is Joshua Walker-he’s with the district attorney’s office-he’s just making sure we get you to the house safely and will be with us as you give your statement to Lucado”

Nicole frowned slightly “Why? No disrespect Joshua, but that’s not something we’d usually do”

“Hi, yeah, it’s just so we can make sure we get all the information as quickly as we can and get Bobo in to court as soon as possible-and with a solid case-it’s so you don’t have to be kept in a safe house for too long” Joshua replied. 

“Where’s Sophia?”

“She’s asked me to move you to the safe house and she’ll join us there” Shapiro replied

“Doesn’t she want to brief me here?”

“No, we’re going to do it there-safer that way… Sorry Nic, I know it’s a mess, but she doesn’t want to keep you here-she’s worried you’re a target”

“How could I be a target? I’m still undercover” Nicole argued

“Do you want me to call Lucado? You can talk to her yourself if you want” Shapiro said. Nicole could see her colleague was starting to get irritated, and she had to rein herself in

“No… Sorry Eliza-trust issues…”

“It’s okay, I get it… we just want you back with us-we’re just trying to speed that all along for you”

“I appreciate that… truly I do… can I ask a favour though?” the redhead asked

“Sure” Shapiro answered with a smile

“Can we just swing by my place so I can grab some clothes? I need to get out of this suit, I need to get my actual cell phone and let my family know I’m safe… it won’t take five minutes”

“I’m not sure we have time” Shapiro said concerned

“Please Eliza… I need to talk to my sister…”

Eliza glanced at Joshua, who nodded slightly “As long as you’re quick” she nodded with a smile

“Thank you” Nicole breathed out as she followed Shapiro out of the station and into the precinct car park. Joshua walked behind the redhead and opened the back of the car up for Nicole to get in. She sat back and closed her eyes, not quite fathoming how this evening had turned out, but feeling relief that she might finally be free from Bobo Del Rey and her half a life for the last three years

Before long, Nicole Haught was opening the door to her apartment for the first time in three months-and it felt like it always did-lonely and not really hers. Shae and her had bought it five years ago, when they were happy newlyweds-but it was also the place where their marriage had ended. She closed the door quietly and leant against it, taking a deep breath and savouring the silence

Nicole had always known this day would eventually come. She had a packed bag in the bottom of the closet she had put in there the last time she had been home. She walked slowly into her bedroom and opened her wardrobe door, agreeing with Shapiro to keep the lights off, so as not to draw attention to the fact she was home-Rita was still out there and God only knew how many people were working for Del Rey and his wife. 

She agreed she would be as quick as she could, so wasn’t paying attention as she went to collect a few toiletries from the bathroom and then returned to her bedroom. She didn’t notice anything different, until she felt a breeze upon her arms. Looking up to see her bedroom window wide open. Nicole swung round to reach for her service weapon in the open gun safe next to her bag-but it was too late. She felt strong arms wrap around her and her mouth covered with a hand-stopping her screams from being heard

“Shush… it’s okay, I’m not here to hurt you” a familiar voice whispered “I work with Waverly, and I have a feeling you’re being set up…”

Nicole stopped struggling at the mention of the brunettes name

“I’m going to let go, but Agent Haught, I need you to not scream okay? Can you do that for me?” the man asked. Nicole nodded her head and felt his grip loosen around her. He moved round to her side and raised his hands in surrender

“My name is Detective Seargent Xavier Dolls and I am Waverly Earp’s partner”

“I remember…” Nicole almost whispered

“We don’t have long but look-I don’t know who that woman is you’re with, but Lucado came to us earlier and was adamant you were not to be let out of her sight… and the guy… I know him… it doesn’t make sense them being together”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Eliza Shapiro is a decorated FBI agent…”

“I don’t care what she is-you were supposed to be seen by Lucado”

“She sent Eliza instead” Nicole argued 

“No she didn’t… look, you may not know me from Adam, but you know Waverly, and Waverly trusts me with her life-like it or not, you are now part of that, so you’ve got two choices, either you come willingly, or you come with a struggle-but you ARE coming with me… I can keep you safe until we figure out what the hell the deal is…”

Nicole looked at the man in front of her-she didn’t know him, but had to admit, Eliza Shapiro turning up had thrown her, and Nicole always trusted her gut “Okay…”

Dolls nodded at her and smiled slightly “We have to go out the way I came in… you good with heights?”

“I don’t really have a choice do I?” Nicole replied drily

“Follow me, and get into the back-we’ll hide you until we’re clear”

She picked up her bag and holstered her weapon, following the man in front of her out onto the fire escape-making sure to close the window behind her to give them just that bit longer before its discovered she’d gone. 

Considering this man was solid, he was lithe as he descended the ladder gracefully and jogged over to an SUV parked in the side alley by her apartment. He unlocked it quickly and slipped behind the drivers wheel, reaching for a blanket to cover Nicole as she lay down on the back seat

“Stay down…” Dolls instructed as she quietly closed the door and made herself as flat as she could on the floor of the truck. The engine started quietly and before she could really get her bearings, Dolls was telling her to take the blanket off and climb into the front with him

“How the hell did this happen?” Nicole asked as soon as she was seated

“Honestly, a stroke of luck. I saw you guys pull in, and I wouldn’t have even noticed if I hadn’t seen Joshua Walker in the front seat”

“Who is he?”

“A DA we’ve worked with a bit-but it made no sense him being with you-especially as Lucado was so adamant you were not to be moved by anyone other than her”

“And what the hell were you doing at my apartment?” the redhead asked

“Waverly wanted to give you this-but I said I’d do it instead-I thought it was too risky her being seen round here” Dolls replied, handing an envelope to the woman beside him

“How is she?” Nicole asked 

“Tearing her hair out that she can’t contact you” 

Nicole smiled slightly at the thought of the fiery little woman losing her temper at Lucado and placed the letter in the inside pocket of her jacket

“So where are you taking me?” she asked as she settled down in the passenger seat

“The last place anyone would ever look for you”


	11. Chapter 11

Nicole was woken by the jerking of the car as it drove over some holes in the road. She opened her eyes slowly and was unsurprised to see the dawn beginning to peak out over the horizon. Dolls steered the car through some gates and a small wooden house came into view, an impressive looking barn to the left of it and a battered blue truck pulled up at the front

“Where the hell are we?”

“Purgatory” Dolls replied stoically

“I could have told you that…” Nicole muttered “Seriously, what is this place?”

“Seriously… this is a homestead on the outskirts of a town called Purgatory…” Dolls began to explain as he stopped the car and began to get out. He was cut off by the sound of the front door opening and a dark haired woman appearing with a gun in one hand and what looked like a donut in the other. Dolls offered no other explanation as he continued to get out of the car, so Nicole found she had no choice but to follow him

“This her?” The woman said, indicating toward Nicole with the gun that looked at least a hundred years old

“This is her” Dolls said, trying, and failing to hide a small smile

“Well come on in then, I’m freezing my nuts off” the brunette replied before disappearing back into the house

“Who the hell is that?” Nicole asked as she watched the woman vanish into the rickety old house

“That is Wynonna… and she is about the safest person for you to be around right now”

“Wynonna as in…”

“Get the fuck in here Red so you can explain to me what the hell you’ve done to my baby sister” the woman shouted from inside the house

“Do you know what, I think I can handle Shapiro…” Nicole started to say, but stopped herself when she heard Xavier Dolls let out a chuckle beside her “this isn’t funny”

“You need to be safe. SHE will keep you safe. She will drive you up the wall, get you drunk, make you work like a dog and never feed you, but she will keep you safe”

“How can you be so sure?” Nicole asked with a raised eyebrow

“Because Waverly has asked her to” Dolls replied with a shrug. 

Nicole smiled at the man beside her “Thank you Xavier” she said honestly

“It’s only until we figure out what the hell is going on… hopefully it won’t be too long…”

“Dolls” Wynonna shouted “Seriously get her in here, I’ve got to be up in like three hours”

“Shall we?” 

“Can’t wait” the redhead replied. She picked up her bag and followed the man into the house. Whilst it looked scrappy from the outside, it was far more homely inside with a comfortable looking couch and armchair in front of a fire place and a flat screen TV bolted above the mantle. There was a small kitchen with a table beyond the lounge and a room with the door closed opposite the lounge

“That” Wynonna said, gesturing towards the closed door “is my room-off limits… not because I wouldn’t you understand, but because baby girl says I can’t”

‘Good Lord’ Nicole thought to herself, but managed not to say out loud

“This here is Gus. Do as she says at all times” Wynonna continued as she pointed the ancient looking weapon towards a grey haired older lady sitting at the kitchen table

“Your room is upstairs-first door on the right. Bathroom is opposite and all other rooms are out of bounds, understood?” Wynonna said without a hint of a smile

“Yep” Nicole answered as she took in her surroundings

“You a friend of Waverly’s?” The older woman asked from where she sat

“Yes ma’am” Nicole replied quickly

“You call me ma’am again and I’ll shoot you in the foot and then laugh as I watch you try and run away-we clear” the older woman said with a glint in her eye that Nicole couldn’t quite decipher

“Totally” 

“Good… You do what you’re told, when you’re told-got it?” Gus almost barked

“Yes” Nicole answered quickly “What is it you do?”

“I run a small bar in town and Wynonna here runs the town mechanic’s from that barn out there. You can make yourself useful doing the books-Waverly said you’re good with numbers?”

“Yeah, well I can have a look over them certainly”

The smaller woman gave an almost imperceptible nod at Nicole’s words

“You in trouble?” the older woman asked

“Looks like it”

“You like Waverly?”

“I do”

“Well that’s good enough for us… ain’t it Wynonna” Gus said sternly. The brunette looked away from Dolls and towards Nicole, eyes squinting slightly as she stared at the taller woman in front of her

“For now” the brunette said, almost in warning

“Okay then… Well, I’m going to bed-Nicole, stay on the homestead for the next few days and then we’ll look at you maybe doing some work with me-stock intake, tidying my store-give you a change of scene without actually having to see anyone”

“Thank you” Nicole replied honestly “This is very good of you”

“Well Waverly phoned and said we needed to help… Do as you’re told and you’ll be as safe as can be here girlie” Gus said as she stood “I’m at the end of the corridor if you need anything”

“Okay, thanks” Nicole said for what felt like the fifteenth time

“Stop saying thank you-it’s unnecessary and annoying” Wynonna barked from the arm chair “Are you staying?”

“If that’s okay?” Dolls replied with a small smile. Nicole had to control her eyebrows for fear they had shot so far up they had actually left her forehead

“Of course…” Wynonna said almost softly before squinting back at Nicole and looking her dead in the eye “If you tell me sister about this, you won’t just have gangsters to worry about… we clear?”

“Abundantly” Nicole replied. She picked her bag up and walked quickly up the stairs, opening the first door on the right hand side and switching on the light. 

A large attic room with floor length curtains and a large bed stood before her. Nicole didn’t need to investigate further to decipher this must have been Waverly’s childhood room. There were photos of the woman as a teenager spread out on one wall with various school friends. There were a fair few of Waverly with a handsome looking jock and some of them at parties and graduation. She had clearly been a cheerleader if the photos of Waverly in a ‘Blue Devils’ cheer uniform were anything to go by 

There were books everywhere neatly stacked in rows along several shelves and a closet to the left. Nicole sighed and walked over to the bed, placing her bag next to her and digging out an old Bon Jovi tour shirt and a pair of sleep shorts. She was so tired her limbs felt heavy, so despite it feeling odd, Nicole dragged herself to the bathroom and then back into the teenage bedroom of Waverly Earp. 

She reached for the envelope Dolls had given her and smiled as she read the letter inside. It wasn’t long. It only had ten words written-but they were the most hopeful ten words Nicole would ever read

‘Take your time… something tells me you’re worth the wait… W xx’

She placed the letter on the table next to the bed and slid under the covers, praying that sleep would come quickly-but knowing, deep down, it wouldn’t

***

 

“Waverly” Nedley barked across the bull pen “Get in here now… You too Xavier”

“Uh oh… must be bad if he’s using your actual name…” Waverly whispered to her partner as they slowly made their way into their bosses office

“What the fuck have you done with my agent?” Sophia Lucado’s voice rang out over the speaker phone. Waverly and Dolls glanced at each other and then at their boss who was getting redder and redder with each passing minute

“I’m not sure what you mean…” Waverly replied innocently

“Cut the bullshit Earp, I know you have her”

“What makes you think that?” Dolls asked suspiciously 

“Because you had to sign her out… your names are all over the paper work” Lucado stated matter of factly

“What?” Waverly asked incredulously “We didn’t sign her out at all-we moved her once she was out”

There was a silence as all four people took in what Waverly had just admitted

“Where is she?” Lucado seethed

“I’m not telling you” Waverly replied 

“Waverly Earp, you tell Agent Lucado where Nicole Haught is RIGHT now” Nedley barked. Waverly stared at her boss and then glanced at Xavier to see if she could tell what he was thinking

“No” the brunette said after a moment

“Waverly…”

“All due respect Sir, but no. Agent, I think we should meet in person-I don’t trust the phones and neither should you”

“Waverly…” Nedley started to say again before her was cut off by the smaller woman

“No. No” Waverly said with such venom her boss looked slightly taken aback “I will not put her in any more danger”

“Okay… Do you know Borough Park?” Lucado asked after a moment

“I do” Waverly confirmed-although it wasn’t surprising-it was the biggest park in the city

“I’ll see you by the fountains in half an hour…”

“Thank you Sophia” Waverly said sincerely

The older woman hung up, leaving nothing but the sound of the dial tone blasting through the speaker

“Xavier, can you give us a minute please?” Nedley asked-although the tone in which he spoke made it clear this was not up for discussion. The man nodded and then got up and left the office, throwing a cursory nod to his partner as a show of support

Nedley waited until the door was closed before he sat back in his chair and looked Waverly in the eye

“I want to know what the hell is going on, and I want to know now”

“Sir…”

“Borough Park is ten minutes away-which means you’ve got twenty minutes to bring me up to speed before I decide whether or not I suspend you for disobeying orders… I suggest you start talking”

Waverly ran her hand through her hair and let out a huff of air. She knew she had pushed her luck with the man in front of her, and she had no reason not to trust him, so she swallowed her stubbornness and decided to tell him the truth

“I have reason to believe Nicole Haught is still in danger and I am not confident that the FBI can keep her safe” Waverly started

Her boss raised his eyebrow “The FBI can’t keep her safe… but you can?”

“Yes Sir… yes I can… I mean… I am aren’t I?” Waverly defended

“Wanna explain to me why you think this?”

“Sir, Doc Holliday was shot and killed last night because he was talking to us-someone knew that and told Falco… the only people that knew Doc was informing was us and the FBI… it had to come from somewhere-and I know we’re clean our end…” Waverly said “That means someone is informing from inside the bureau”

“You think its Lucado?”

“To be honest, no I don’t… I genuinely think she’s okay… but that just means there’s a rat on her team…”

“So who signed Nicole out? You and Dolls?”

“No sir, Dolls was at her place about to drop a letter off to her and saw Nicole with a woman called Eliza Shapiro and… District Attorney Joshua Walker”

“Walker? What was he doing there?”

“I don’t know… Nicole said to Dolls she trusts Shapiro, but it makes no sense-and the fact they used mine and Dolls’ names to sign her out makes it even more suspicious…”

“So what do you think?” Nedley asked

“I think that Eliza Shapiro and Joshua Walker were signing her out and were planning to either hand her over to someone or…” Waverly paused, what she was about to suggest was a serious matter and she had no evidence to back it up “or they were planning to make her disappear themselves and set myself and Xavier up as the perps”

“That is a serious accusation Waverly”

“I don’t make it lightly sir” Waverly replied immediately “I know Joshua personally, we went for dinner before I went undercover-but I don’t know him well and nothing else adds up…”

“I agree it seems something’s not right…” Nedley said “So where is she?”

Waverly paused and inhaled deeply and then shook her head “Sorry sir, but I’m not going to tell you”

Nedley looked at her again and then nodded almost imperceptibly “I didn’t think you would” he said with a small smile

“Thank you Sir…” Waverly answered gratefully. She stood and walked over to the door, stopping when she heard her boss say her name

“Keep her safe, but don’t ever disobey my orders again”

“Yes Sir” Waverly replied with a nod. She left the office and walked over to her desk, retrieving her bag and putting on her jacket. She turned to see Xavier Dolls already with his coat on and waiting for her at the department entrance

“You don’t have to come…” Waverly started to say

“You’re my partner… Yes I do…” he said, cutting the brunette off mid-sentence

She nodded her head and smiled at the man now beside her, feeling relieved once more to have him on her side

 

The walk to the park was quick, and they both found the fountains easily, Dolls suggesting he continue walking and keep his distance in the hope he would spot anyone paying more attention to the women than necessary

Waverly barely glanced at him as he carried on his journey towards a different part of the fountain area that gave a good overall view of the area. She sat on a bench and got out her phone-blending in as just another business woman on a break from work. She had only been there a couple of minutes when she felt a presence beside her and Sophia Lucado sat down

“Thank you for coming” Waverly said-turning her body towards the woman beside her and relaxing her posture-trying to convey the scene of two friends meeting for a catch up

“You didn’t really give me much of a choice” Lucado bit back

Waverly raised her eyebrows and folded her arms “I could just go if you want?”

Lucado looked at her for a moment before sighing and relaxing beside the brunette “You’re right, I’m sorry… Tell me what you think is going on…”

“I think there is a leak in your department and in the DA’s office, and I think Nicole is a target”

Lucado waited for Waverly to expand further, patiently looking at the brunette with an encouraging look on her face

“Look, first of all, Dolls and I didn’t sign her out-we wouldn’t have any reason to… Check the CCTV at the station-it wasn’t us…” 

Lucado gave no indication of her thoughts, so Waverly continued “I don’t know why she was with Joshua Walker, but don’t you think its suspect that the only person that actually has any evidence against him is Bobo Del Rey? You had three gang leaders in there and only one of them got his hands dirty… And I know I can’t prove a fucking thing right now, but give me time and I WILL be able to… something is up with Josh and this woman Shapiro… Let me and my team see if we can figure something out…” 

Lucado’s eyes had not left Waverly’s as she’d spoken and it wasn’t until she inhaled deeply did she give any indication she had even heard the younger woman’s theories “I have a horrible feeling you might be right… Eliza is one of my best Agents… But I didn’t send her to release Nicole, and so far she hasn’t even let on she knows Nicole is missing…”

“What about the CCTV?”

“Conveniently there was a power surge at that exact moment and they lost all power to the camera’s… just the camera’s…” Lucado said “I can’t believe I’m about to say this… Look into Eliza Shapiro… but carefully-she is an incredibly adept Agent and technology is a strong suit of hers-I’ll be amazed if you find anything on her at all…”

“I think Joshua is our best bet right now… he’s a clever man, but he’s not the smartest.. if that makes sense?” Waverly said “I was out for dinner with him the night Dolls called and asked if I could go under cover…”

“That’s a… coincidence…” Lucado replied suspiciously

“I know… but I can’t see how it could be linked-I didn’t know I was going in and you certainly didn’t so how HE would know is beyond me…”

“We knew Xavier was talking to Doc…” Lucado began “We didn’t know the plan to put you in-and truth be told, you did fool us all-but we did know he was talking-he was excellent at covering his tracks and his poker face was extraordinary, so we didn’t have any just cause to think he was in any more danger than any other informant…”

The silence hung between them-both knowing their system had failed the aging cowboy, and neither quite knowing how to articulate that. They had let him down, and he was the one to pay the ultimate price

“Okay, look into Joshua and see if there’s anything to link him to Bobo” Lucado said

“What about all three gangs…” Waverly asked “There were three in there-what if they’re not working for Bobo, but one of the other ones?”

“It’s a good point… have a look and see what you can find… But be careful… we don’t want any alerts going off and revealing we’re onto them” Lucado instructed “And about Nicole…”

“I’m not telling you where she is…” Waverly started

“And I was about to say don’t tell me… I am assuming you need to find a reason to trust me-and to earn that, I will allow you to keep her out of harm’s way and away from me and my department… But keep your wits about you too… Don’t get complacent… cover your tracks if you go and see her”

“I’m not planning to go and see her, but IF either me or Dolls do, I’ll make sure we take every precaution”

“Thank you Waverly… I hope to God we can sort this out quickly-Nicole Haught has been through enough…”

Waverly nodded her agreement and stood from the bench, shaking hands with the woman beside her and making her way back to the station, silently thanking her lucky stars she had a secret weapon up her sleeve-and that secret weapon’s name was Jeremy Chetri


	12. Chapter 12

The sun woke Nicole Haught the next morning from the first dreamless sleep she’d had in months. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around, trying to remember the events of the last 48 hours. Stretching leisurely, the redhead couldn’t deny she had just awoken from one of the best night’s sleep she can remember having-unsure whether it was the stillness of the night, the tiredness of her body, the smell of a certain brunette’s shampoo on the pillow-or perhaps a combination of all three. 

Getting up from the bed, Nicole rummaged about in her bag for a pair of sweats and a hoodie-slipping them both on before heading downstairs and to what she hoped would be some coffee. Realising the house was empty, Nicole walked into the kitchen and found a coffee machine on the counter and a note on the kitchen table that was scrawled in what Nicole could only assume was Wynonna’s, handwriting telling her not to approach the garage until 11AM and to bring the brunette a top up of coffee as soon after as she could. She swilled out the remnants in the pot, and went about opening cupboards to find what she needed to make a fresh one. Although Dolls had warned her Wynonna probably wouldn’t have much in the way of food in, Nicole hadn’t realised quite how accurate his assessment would be

She poured two cups and walked over to the door, realising the only pair of shoes she had brought with her had been the brogues she had been wearing when the raid had occurred. She found a pair of rain boots sitting by the door and figured she could squeeze her feet into them. She made her way across the yard and to where a radio was blaring and the sound of Wynonna Earp screeching along at the top of her voice could be heard

“Hey” Nicole shouted over a lull in the music. Wynonna was lying underneath a truck, her feet poking out tapping along to the music. the sound of a some sort of tool dropping onto the floor rang out and Wynonna slid out from under the truck on a small wheelie platform and squinted up at the taller woman

“Didn’t know if you had cream or…” Nicole started but was cut off by Wynonna standing and swiping the mug of coffee from her hands

“Black is fine… time was I added whisky-but I got to drive later” Wynonna sniffed before taking a swig from the steaming cup “So… you’re good with numbers?”

Nicole nodded, realising Wynonna Earp wasn’t one for small talk “Yeah… want me to have a look at yours?”

“Well baby girl said I had to keep you busy or you’ll go mad…” Wynonna shrugged “But don’t feel like you have to”

“No, I will…” Nicole said quickly “I need to go into town at some point”

“Not a chance” Wynonna said, standing up and stretching out her back “Write down what you need and I’ll go and get it for you… there’s no way you’re leaving here any time soon”

“You can’t seriously think you’re going to keep me here” Nicole asked aghast 

“That’s exactly what I’m planning on doing” Wynonna answered matter of factly

“But… But.. you CAN’T” Nicole almost shouted

“I’m guessing you don’t know my sister well?” Wynonna said with a hint of a smile “She said I was to keep you here and keep you safe”

“But you live in the middle of nowhere?”

“Which means strangers stick out like sore thumbs… and the fact you’re what… seven foot two and have hair the colour of an orange high lighter, means you, my friend, stick out”

Nicole blinked twice at the woman in front of her “Five foot nine”

“Whatever” Wynonna replied nonchalantly “The point is, people will notice you, so you gotta stay here and keep your head down”

“For how long?”

“As long as Waverly says” 

“But…”

“Take it up with her Red” Wynonna cut off, sounding almost bored “I got plenty to keep you busy”

“I’m pretty fast with accounting”

“I got a roof to fix, cars to wash, a house to paint” Wynonna replied “And I’ve been thinking about putting a vegetable garden out the back of the house”

“I’m not… I can’t just… What the FUCK Wynonna?” 

“Like I said, take it up with baby girl” Wynonna shrugged again “So… books are in there” the brunette continued, pointing towards a messy looking office “And I’m out tonight, so write down anything you need me to get, and I’ll make sure I swing by the store and pick it up for you”

“I’m not your fucking house wife” Nicole spat

“Don’t I know it” Wynonna replied with a smile so wide Nicole almost wanted to knock it off the brunette’s face “Again… don’t shoot the messenger”

“Fine… give me her number and I’ll talk to her myself”

“Not a chance” Wynonna almost laughed

“Why?”

Wynonna let out an exasperated sigh “Because, Red, you are a wanted woman-no communication and no outside world until Waverly says otherwise…”

“But…” 

“There IS no but Nicole” Wynonna snapped “My sister is trying to keep you alive-you want to go against her, then fine-but NOT on my watch. Now you might not like it, but that’s the deal-you stay here, you’re safe-so how about you stop chewing my ear off and get on with making yourself useful”

Nicole was momentarily startled before she had to open her mind and realise quite what Wynonna was saying. Like it or not, there was no doubt by now a price on her head and she didn’t know who she could trust, so she swallowed her frustration and nodded her head slightly

“You’re right… Sorry Wynonna… I’m frustrated, but I realise it’s not your fault-and I am grateful to you and Gus for putting me up” Nicole said almost sheepishly “I’ll have a look and see what I can do for you… and I’ll write a list-it’ll be quite long, I got kind of ambushed by Dolls…” 

Wynonna waved away the woman in front of her “Don’t worry about that-if you get my books in order and do a few jobs round here I reckon that’ll be us even”

“Okay… thanks”

Wynonna almost ignored the redhead, choosing instead to grunt her acknowledgement and disappear back under the car. Nicole watched her go before walking into the makeshift office to the right of the door. It was piled high with papers and invoices, and Nicole could just make out some accounting books and a box of receipts marked with the previous tax year. She sighed at the chaos in front of her, but scooped up as much as she could before returning to the house and lying the paperwork on to the kitchen table. 

She went back upstairs and decided to shower before tackling the books, so grabbed the towel that had been left in her room and padded into bathroom-pleasantly surprised at the water pressure and the hot water. The quiet out on the homestead was something Nicole would have to get used to, but as she reached for a shampoo that was unmistakably Waverly’s, Nicole had to admit that a couple of weeks in the middle of nowhere might be just the tonic she needed to start to make her peace with all she’d been through over the last three years

***

Waverly had known her and Jeremy Chetri would get on from the minute she’d walked into his office and found him with his hand buried in a bowl of pistachio’s, reading a Dr Strange comic. She had surprised him with her presence, and in his surprise, he’d jumped up, spilt his snacks, bashed his knee and dropped his comic. Waverly found him scatty, kooky and utterly charming. She walked into his office and found him in front of his computer screen-his headphones on and his head bobbing along to whatever music he was listening to. 

Waverly smiled at her friend and his complete obliviousness to her presence. She walked up behind him and softly put her hand on his shoulder, instantly making him jump back and hit his knee on the desk-a reaction they had both gotten used to

“So… I have a favour to ask…” Waverly started as she perched on Jeremy’s desk and smiled her signature smile at the man in front of her

“Why do I feel like you’re about to make my life very difficult?” Jeremy replied

“You know your insanely brilliant technology skills… I’m going to need them…”

Jeremy looked around before leaning forward and whispering “I’m not looking into any more of your speeding tickets… you need to start driving with some responsibility”

“Not that” Waverly scowled “and I told you, that was one time… look, I have to do some digging, but under the radar-and when I mean under the radar, I mean not even the FBI whizz kids can find you looking…”

“Err… not that I’m not super excited to be illegally looking into people, but I’m going to need some more information” 

Waverly knew, above all other things, that Jeremy Chetri was an outstandingly moral man. He always walked on the line of truth and justice, and Waverly loved him for it. She took a deep breath, and caught her colleague up to speed with the last 24 hours. He listened intently and nodded along, choosing not to ask questions until she had finished 

“So this Nicole… you’re sure she’s legit?” 

“What do you mean?” Waverly frowned

“I mean it sounds like it’s a complicated mess and so far the only person not under suspicion is this Nicole Haught… she was a convincing gangster… are you sure that’s because she’s a good actor and not because… you know… she actually IS a gangster?”

“You know when you first met Robin and you said you could feel his goodness… that you just knew… I feel like that Jer… I know I can’t explain it I just… I know…” Waverly offered as the only explanation. The man looked at his friend and nodded slightly

“Okay then… so tell me what you want me to do…”

“We need to look into this Eliza Shapiro and… DA Joshua Walker…”

“DA… Waverly are you serious? I can’t go prying into DA Walker, it’s wholly unethical, not to mention a huge conflict of interest…” Jeremy protested

“Will you relax… I have an FBI Special Agent whose willing to back us up”

“So why aren’t the FBI doing it?” Jeremy asked confused

“Because Jer, we think that an agent called Eliza Shapiro is dirty-she and Josh signed Nicole out of 17th street using mine and Dolls names-that makes NO sense… there’s got to be a link between her, Falco, Del Rey, Walker and Irving-otherwise, why the hell would she sign Nicole out under my name and then act like she hasn’t seen her in months? I’m telling you Jeremy, she’s crooked, which means Josh must be too…” Waverly reasoned

“Waves, that kind of tech is going to take time-I can’t just go looking, it’ll need way more than the usual type of program we use…”

“So talk to whoever it is you talk to about this stuff and get some help”

“You mean like a hacker?”

“Yes Jeremy…” Waverly said with a hint of exasperation “I know you have friends more than capable… we need to step this up and we don’t have much time-Nicole is hiding out, and whilst I know she’ll be safe, she might be driven to distraction by the person she’s with…”

“Where is she?” Jeremy asked

“You can’t tell anyone. And I mean ANYONE Jer, not even Nedley knows…” Waverly replied seriously. Jeremy nodded his head in understanding “She’s at the Homestead”

“With Wy…”

“With Wy” Waverly cut him off

“Well then I best make some calls…”

***

“21?” Wynonna asked

“Sure” Nicole responded with a shrug. 

Gus, it turned out, didn’t live on the Homestead full time, but usually stayed there a couple of nights a week to keep Wynonna company and make sure the raven haired woman ate at least two decent meals a week. The older woman had declared that whilst Nicole was on the property, it meant she didn’t need to be-and had promptly disappeared off to her own house a couple of miles away. That was three weeks ago and unfortunately for Nicole, that meant that she hadn’t seen another person apart from her ‘host’ and she was starting to lose the will to live

She had spent the first five days sorting out Wynonna’s chaotic excuse for accounting and had finally finished that afternoon-only to be presented with Gus’ books-which, mercilessly, were in a far better state. That took up a couple days, and as soon as they were done, Wynonna unceremoniously put Nicole to work around the house. In the three weeks that followed Nicole had fixed a roof, replaced the porch handrails and was in the process of painting the entire outside of the house. She worked quickly and meticulously, which meant she was exhausted by the end of her days, and would barely manage to eat whichever take out Wynonna ordered before crawling upstairs for a bath before passing out

“Earp rules-if you go bust-you take a shot. If you get 21-you take a shot. If you get 5 card trick-you take a shot… and with every shot you have to take, you also have to answer a question”

“Can I pass?”

“For a double shot” Wynonna replied immediately-almost as if she was expecting the question

“Okay…” the redhead answered dubiously. She knew this was only going to end badly for her-but maybe if they bonded over whisky and secrets, Nicole and Wynonna could try and find some common ground. Her host was less than forthcoming when it came to talking, and they had spent the last three weeks barely registering the others existence. 

Wynonna dealt the cards and both women took their hands-Nicole inwardly sighing as she saw she had a 10 and a 2. She got another card and was not enthused when a 9 appeared. She knew Wynonna would drink her under the table, but she had hoped the first few hands wouldn’t result in her having to take a drink. The brunette stuck with two cards, and grinned when Nicole turned up 21 and she had 17. Nicole could swear her eyes twinkled as she poured out the amber liquid and slid it over to the redhead, the smile never leaving her lips

“My question is Red… What is it you actually did that has you hiding out here?” 

Nicole was momentarily startled-she had assumed Wynonna knew why she was there “I’m an FBI Agent who, up until recently, was undercover as a lieutenant of sorts in a criminal organisation”

“How do you know Waverly?”

“You get the answer to that if and when I take another shot” Nicole answered with a raised eyebrow. Wynonna shrugged and dealt again, Nicole getting a 2 and a 3. She  
Took another 3 cards one after the other and a 5, a 7 and a 4. She shook her head at the brunette as she watched her opponent turn over a 10 and a Queen

“Unbelievable” Nicole muttered as she accepted the drink and threw it down her throat in one

“So… How do you know my sister?”

“Her department had an informant in the gang I was in-they put her undercover to try and infiltrate us and see where we were getting our drugs from-they had no idea I worked for the feds… I found out about three weeks in that she was a cop, and our bosses decided we needed to work together to get information on a weapons/drugs/money swap between us and two other gangs… We set her up as my girlfriend”

“Waverly was your girlfriend?”

“As a cover, yes…”

“Did you fuck my sister?”

“Absolutely not” Nicole shot back immediately

“Did you want to?” Wynonna asked. Nicole took a sharp intake of breath before looking the woman in front of her directly in the eye

“Wynonna, that’s not… It was so far away from my mind…”

“What about now?”

“Aren’t we supposed to be playing cards?”

Wynonna poured another shot for Nicole and one for herself “The cards are all rigged, you may as well just tell me” the brunette said seriously

“Look, I am probably being hunted by three of the biggest crime lords this side of Canada, I imagine there’s a price on my head and I don’t know who to trust other than your sister and you by proxy… Do I think your sister is attractive? Of course I fucking do. Am I even contemplating asking for her number? Right now, in these circumstances, I can’t even begin to fathom what that would look like…”

Wynonna nodded imperceptibly “Good enough” 

“What about you? You seeing anyone? Other than Officer Dolls of course…” Nicole said with a slight smile

“One or two… casually… but no, not really” Wynonna replied 

“Why not?” Nicole pushed

“Couple of reasons really… Slim options round here and you know… the whole Earp thing…”

“What Earp thing?” Nicole asked

Wynonna sighed and tilted her head “Nothing… just… small town mentality… We’re not much liked around here…”

“But business is good” Nicole said, more as a statement than anything else

“I’m the only garage around here for miles-they have to come to me” Wynonna answered with a shrug

“Which brings me onto a thought I’ve had… why don’t you have a recovery truck? You could earn a hell of a lot more if you did… all the rescue people would have to use you as you’re the only one out here…”

“No one to drive it-I can’t do it, I work all day”

“You’re telling me there’s not one person that needs a job out here that will work for you?” Nicole asked 

“Maybe one or two…” Wynonna replied with another small smile “I’ll think about it…”

“Okay” Nicole said, returning the smile. She then leant across the table and poured them both another shot

“So… tell me about Waverly Earp the teenager” the redhead said conspiratorially 

“Couldn’t tell you… I was AWOL for most of her teenage years… hella proud of her now though”

Nicole contemplated the information Wynonna had just shared “I’m not surprised… she’s unlike anyone I know”

“Sounds like you have a lot of time for her” Wynonna said as she sipped her drink

“I do… I think she’s magical if I’m honest… But I’m a mess… It couldn’t work right now, even if I wanted it to…” Nicole hadn’t realised she had gotten lost in her own thoughts until Wynonna brought her out of them

“Well, I won’t try to imagine what you’ve gone through, but I do know that when she see’s something she likes, she doesn’t like to wait… and she likes you, so… don’t piss her off-otherwise you’ll have me to deal with-and unlike those goons looking for you-I know where you are, and I’ll shoot you in your sleep if you hurt my sister” Wynonna announced before throwing another shot back and standing up “We’re up early tomorrow, so make sure you get some sleep”

“What are we doing tomorrow?”

“I’m going to teach you all about cars… then we’re going looking at pick-ups…”

“You mean… I can actually leave the homestead?”

“Yeah, as long as you’re with me and we don’t stray too far… you need to see other people and Lord knows I’m pissed off with looking at you” the brunette said before turning on her heel and disappearing into her room.

Nicole blinked for a few moments before getting up and walking over to the sink. She washed up their glasses and made her way upstairs. Wynonna was unconventional. She swore like a sailor and drank like one too-but she had shown a soft side of herself to Nicole tonight. The redhead was certain that under different circumstances, they would probably clash in every way possible-but with Waverly needing a safe place for her, and Wynonna’s clear devotion to her sister-Nicole found herself thanking whichever God was out there that she seemed to have the Earp sisters on her side. She didn’t feel invincible, but she felt a damn sight safer than she did a month ago-and that was solely down to Waverly Earp and her incessant need to help


	13. Chapter 13

Waverly Earp rarely showed emotion at work. She was known for being fiery but unflappable when it came to arrests and meticulous when it came to investigation, but as she entered the third week with no results, she was starting to get more frustrated with every step. 

Jeremy had been working tirelessly to find a connection between Joshua Walker, Eliza Shapiro and Bobo Del Rey-and so far, they were coming up empty. Waverly took herself off to the break room for a coffee and a change of scene and was pouring herself a cup when Nedley came in and closed the door, leaning against it and looking at the woman in front of him

“You know what I find fascinating… statistics…” the older man said. Waverly placed her almond milk back into the fridge and turned to face her boss

“Yeah? How so?”

“I find patterns interesting…” He continued cryptically “Take, for example, success rates… particularly within, I don’t know, the district attorney’s office… did you know you can easily find out how successful a DA has been just by looking them up on the website…”

Waverly was sipping her drink and watching her boss as he carried on 

“I just think it’s interesting of all the cases Joshua Walker has been involved in-he’s only lost three… and two of those three have, either directly, or indirectly, involved a known gang leader by the name of Michael Irving” Nedley said with a twitch of his moustache “Like I say… fascinating…”

Waverly blinked at her boss and then placed her coffee on the side and walked over to him. She reached up on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek softly

“Thank you” she said quietly as she looked him in the eye. He nodded slightly and opened the door, leaving her with the first bubbles of hope in her stomach for nearly a month. She grabbed her coffee quickly and marched back into Jeremy’s office with renewed determination

“Nedley is a fucking genius” the brunette declared as soon as she was over the threshold “Look into Joshua’s case history”

“Why?” Jeremy asked, annoyed Waverly had forgotten his coffee

“Because according to Nedley, he’s only lost three cases, and two of them look like they involve Irving in some way”

Jeremy swung his chair back to his computer “I’m pretty sure my search would have flagged that up… is he sure?”

“Says so” Waverly replied as she watched her colleague frantically type on his keyboard

“Here we are… Joshua Walker, involved in 98 cases-both as first or second chair, of which he has lost 20…” Jeremy said, reading the information on the screen in front of him

“Okay, but how many has he himself lost-not as part of a team?” Waverly questioned

“Erm… hang on…” he replied as he typed 

“Okay… three… involved in cases where he was the sole prosecutor and lost… just three…”

“And what were those cases?” Waverly asked, her heart rate picking up

“Let me see… erm… looks to me like one was dangerous driving and two were drug offences…”

“Do you have the names of the defendants?”

“Yeah, says here the dangerous driver was a woman called Maxine Turner and the drugs were… Alex Parker and… Michael James Irving…” Jeremy answered, tailoring off as he realised the implications 

“Well shit…” Waverly whispered “You know who those people are right?”

“I know who Irving is…”Jeremy countered

“Maxine Turner is the partner of William Osbourne”

“Err… no clearer…” Jeremy replied

“William Osbourne is Michael Irving’s deputy, and Alex Parker is their prospect… Shit Jeremy… that’s the link…” 

“So Walker must be in the back pocket of Irving… but how does that bring us closer to Shapiro?”

“It doesn’t-but what it does give us a reason to talk to Walker… I have to make a phone call… great work Jer” Waverly said as she patted her friend on the back and disappeared to find her burner phone

She pulled a sim card from her purse and inserted it into the pay as you go cell she had bought to cover any unwanted tracks left of her correspondence with Lucado. She sent a series of letters to the   
Number Lucado had given her, and waited for a response-receiving the number 25 in reply. Grabbing her coat, Waverly shot a quick message to Dolls and then headed for the subway. 

Half an hour later she was sitting in a café next to the radiology department in the hospital a glass of sparkling water in front of her and the crumbs of a sandwich she had just finished on a plate to her side. Lucado sat down and smiled wearily at the younger woman

“How you doing?” Waverly asked

“It’s not easy…” Lucado replied simply

“We may have a breakthrough… we think we’ve found a link between Walker and Irving” Waverly began, taking no time at all to catch Lucado up on Nedley’s discovery

“This is promising… well done Waverly”

“Do you want me to bring him in?”

“Not yet… we need to figure out Eliza’s connection-I don’t want anything to tip her off…”

“Any luck in finding Rita?”

“Not a damn thing… the woman’s vanished” Lucado replied, frustration seeping into her tone

“She’ll turn up… Levi can’t stay with her forever… he’ll contact Fish eventually…” Waverly reasoned

Lucado hummed her response, but looked unconvinced “How’s Nicole?”

“Fine I believe… she’s safe and keeping busy” Waverly replied. Truth was, she hadn’t spoken to the redhead or her sister since Dolls dropped her off-deciding to keep the contact to necessity only. Wynonna had promised to let her know when it became too much of a strain-but so far it appeared all was well back on the homestead

Waverly’s thoughts were interrupted by her phone going off. Nedley’s name flashed up on her caller ID so Waverly showed the phone to Lucado to let her know who it was and then answered

“You with your contact?” Nedley asked gruffly

Waverly glanced over at Lucado and then nodded “I am Sir”

“Good… let her know I’ve just had a report come in-Rita Svane and Levi Cooper has just been picked up by local traffic cops in Banff”

“Seriously?” Waverly asked, not quite believing what she was hearing

“Yep… apparently his car has a broken taillight… There’s a warrant out for their arrest so they’ve been taken in-I’m guessing you need to pass this information on”

“Thank you Sir” Waverly replied before hanging up and smiling at the woman in front of her “They’ve just picked up Rita and Levi in Banff…”

After three weeks of nothing, luck seemed to finally be on their side and Waverly recognised the feeling she got when a shift in an investigation became evident

Lucado let out a breath of air and a small smile crept onto her face “Well then… I better get myself on a flight”

Both women stood and gathered their things, Waverly deciding to nip into the bathroom to give Lucado time to leave without them being seen together 

“Keep going Waverly, the more time I spend with Shapiro, the more convinced I am she’s involved… I’ll let you know how I get on-go for a drive with your burner between 11PM and midnight-I’ll be in touch”

Waverly nodded her ascent and then went in a different direction to the blonde, finding a bathroom on the second floor. After visiting the loo and washing her hands, she started towards the exit but her eyes were caught by a row of payphones near the doors. She pulled out some change and phoned the number of her aunts bar, smiling when she heard the familiar voice answer after three rings

“Hey, it’s me… How you doing?” She asked her aunt, smiling at the gruff noise that met her ears

“Had someone in to clear my store and do my accounts…”

“Oh yeah? How’d that work out for you?” Waverly replied

“Books never looked so kept and stock room never been so clean… reckon at this rate your sister will have that damn veg patch dug by the end of next week”

“Make sure she’s not taking the piss… I want to meet this person someday and thank them properly” Waverly answered-the smile evident in her voice

“From what I hear, that’ll be welcome-that puppy dog your sisters got though… getting restless-wants to go out and see the world…”

“But it’s not old enough to leave the house yet-Nonna knows that right?”

“That she does, but you know she’s always been soft with puppy dog eyes… might be an idea you give her a call and remind her that until she’s seen a vet, she can’t take her out”

Waverly sighed into the receiver-she knew this would be starting to take its toll on Nicole-Lord knows Waverly couldn’t spend three weeks holed up with only her sister for company

“I’ll see what I can do… Are YOU okay?”

“You know me darlin’ I’m strong as an ox” came the reply “Everything’s just as it should be here… ‘cept we could do with seeing you”

“I know, I’m sorry… as soon as I can, I’ll come out and spend a week, how about that?”

“When you can, God knows I aint goin’ anywhere any time soon”

“Well… just as long as you don’t….”

Wavery smiled as she hung up, relishing the feeling of comfort she always took from hearing her aunt’s voice. She was about to dial her sister when she got a message from Jeremy, asking her to come back ASAP so he could show her what he’d discovered. Resigning herself to calling her sister later, she quickly made her way back to the precinct and back to the genius awaiting her

***

Nicole awoke the next day with something akin to excitement. She was finally going into town. She wasn’t much of a shopper, but having been restricted to either the Homestead or the basement underneath the bar Gus owned, she found herself craving a change of scene

She showered quickly and dressed in a pair of workman jeans Wynonna had bought her two weeks ago and a white t-shirt she had picked up from her apartment before Dolls had taken her away. Padding downstairs, she found the usual note pinned to the fridge instructing her to take Wynonna coffee and to not leave the house until past 11AM. Nicole hadn’t asked why it was always that time-but had assumed it was because people would drop their car’s off early morning and Wynonna didn’t want to risk Nicole being seen by anyone

She filled up two mugs and made her way over to the garage and towards the God awful music Wynonna was singing along to, walking straight to the stereo and turning it down

“The fuck Red, I was listening to that” Wynonna scolded as soon as she appeared from underneath a truck

“Coffee?” Nicole offered, deciding to ignore the annoyance in Wynonna’s voice

The brunette grunted and reached for the proffered mug, a routine the two women had accidentally slipped in to within three days of Nicole being on the Homestead

“So… what are you doing?” Nicole asked to fill the silence that had settled around them

“I’m just changing the oil and fitting a new filter” Wynonna shrugged “Not complicated”

“Okay… so how do you do it then?” 

Wynonna sighed and grabbed another wheelie trolley from across the workshop

“Slide yourself under and I’ll show you” the raven haired woman said. Nicole placed her coffee down and lay on the trolley, using her legs to navigate her way underneath the vehicle. Wynonna appeared from the other side with a couple of rags, a plastic container and a couple of wrenches

“So you undo this” Wynonna started, using her wrench to point at what looked like a bolt “this is the drain plug, the oil will pour out into this” she continued, indicating the container “Then you give it a wipe with this rag, replace the plug back and tighten it with one of these wrenches”

Nicole watched where the brunette was signalling and took in the information, deciding had she have known how simple it was, she could have saved a fortune on her car

“That’s all pretty simple… Then what?”

“Then you take this filter wrench and unscrew the old filter like this” Wynonna continued as Nicole watched Wynonna work, enjoying the way the brunette made it sound easy without actually patronising her. She listened and watched Wynonna work until the old oil had been replaced and they were pouring the fresh liquid into a funnel under the hood

“So… You want the good news or the bad news?” Wynonna said as she replaced the lid on the oil canister and wiped her hands on a rag

“That sounds ominous”

“Gus spoke to Waverly this morning… She says I’m not allowed to walk my new puppy until she’s had all her shots”

Nicole frowned and then blinked twice once she realised she was being referred to as a puppy 

“So… Until further notice, you’re still banned from shopping in town…”

“But… you said I could go out with you” Nicole said, trying and failing not to sound like a whining teenager

“I know, but I shouldn’t have done that… so, you know… sorry…”

“What’s the good news?” Nicole asked

“What?”

“You said there was good news…”

“Oh… There isn’t any-I just thought that was an expression” Wynonna shrugged “But I tell you what, I’ll go grocery shopping tonight and you can put whatever you want on the list and I’ll actually go and buy it this time”

Nicole bit the inside of her cheek lest she explode into a fit of rage at the woman in front of her. Wynonna sighed and tilted her head-a trait that was so unbelievably Waverly, Nicole found herself calming despite herself

“I tell you what… you wanna learn about cars and spend some time with someone, then how about I let you in on something…” Wynonna said almost softly. Nicole looked her in the eye and nodded slightly

“Come here” Wynona replied as she walked towards the back of her shop and towards a shutter Nicole hadn’t even noticed was there. The brunette took a set of keys from her front pocket and placed them into a box on the wall, turning the key and opening the shutter slowly. A red wrangler jeep came into view along with an expensive looking Harley Davidson

“This was Waverly’s car when she lived here… she always loved it and she actually cried the day it gave up the ghost. I was supposed to scrap it, but instead I hid it in our barn and covered it up in an old tarp until she left for college. I’ve been trying to restore it ever since…” Wynonna explained “And this is my trusty steed. I don’t go out on her much as I never really have the time-but I tell you what, why don’t I finish early tonight and we can go out on her?”

Nicole nodded solemnly at the woman in front of her and then managed to find a grateful smile “Thank you… I’d like that…”

“And if you want to help with the jeep, then I’d be more than happy-I can’t have you do anything with my customers cars, but we could maybe get you helping with this-I could teach you how to replace brake pads and spark plugs… nothing too complex-but certainly enough to keep you interested…”

“You know, for a woman who tells everyone she doesn’t give a shit, you sure are thoughtful”

“Fuck off” 

“Sure…” Nicole said as she knocked her shoulder with the brunette standing beside her “Thank you Wynonna… I’ll go make a shopping list”

She left the garage and headed back to the house, thankful that Wynonna had the ability to diffuse the pressure cooker ready to explode inside Nicole’s head. 

***

Waverly walked back into the precinct to find Jeremy Chetri pacing in front of her desk with Dolls leaning against it with his arms folded

“Finally” he said in an exasperated tone. Waverly raised her eyebrows at the man in front of her and took a deep breath

“I’ve been gone 40 minutes Jer” 

“The most important 40 minutes we’ve had yet” Jeremy replied “I’ve found the connection… I think…”

“What?!” Waverly said excitedly “How?”

“Come with me…” 

He led them into his lab and sat down in front of his computer

“So… We all know that Eliza Shapiro is either clean, or VERY good at covering her tracks… and so on the off chance, I decided to check against her passport to see if she’d been anywhere recently that looked a bit suspect. She had a week off last month, and according to the FBI log book, she said she was visiting her mother in St Louis… BUT when I checked against her passport, she actually flew into Orlando” 

“Okay… so she lied about where she was going… what’s the connection?” Waverly asked

“I’m getting to that” Jeremy replied irritably “I’ve been working non-stop on this-let me have my moment”

“Jeremy…” Dolls started, but stopped when he felt Waverly’s hand on his arm

“He’s right… continue Sir” Waverly said with a bow to her head and a wink towards her friend

“SO… If you go to Orlando, where’s the most likely place you’re going to?”

“Everglades” Dolls said at the same time Waverly said “Disneyworld”

“Close… Universal studios… And what do they have at theme parks?”

“Rides” Waverly said

“And what happens on these rides?”

“People get excited and forget how to adult?” Dolls answered drily

“Almost…” Jeremy said with a smile “Photos… they take photos of people on rides…”

“Right… But they don’t keep those photos though do they? I mean, surely they get discarded the following day?” Waverly said

“No, they actually keep them on the system for fifteen days… unless you have a photo-pass card, in which case its forty five days… Guess who bought a photo-pass card?” Jeremy said triumphantly

“You are kidding…” Waverly said incredulously “So who was she with?”

Jeremy brought up a series of photos of Eliza Shapiro in various poses through-out the theme parks

“Is that…” Dolls said as he leant closer

“It’s Rita fucking Svane” Waverly whispered


	14. Chapter 14

“What do you mean our services are no longer required?” Waverly barked at a man she’d never seen before and who worked for the FBI

“Just that… thanks for all your help, but we’ll take it from here”

“Where is Sophia Lucado?” the brunette questioned

“Up to her eyes with interviews… she said to pass on her thanks, but that we will no longer need your help”

“Well that’s just… BULLSHIT” Waverly exploded

“Look… you and I both know this is how it works… there’s no need to get quite so emotional” the man said almost bored. Dolls took a step back and leant against the desk as he waited for the inevitable fireworks to go off

“Now you listen here shit ticket, we have worked our asses off to get these results and if it wasn’t for me and my team, you would have no fucking clue how this has all happened, so the least you can do is show us the respect we fucking deserve”

“Look…” the man started, but was cut off once again by the fiery woman in front of him

“Don’t you fucking DARE try and placate me” Waverly seethed

“Waverly” She heard Nedley say from behind her

“And just so we are all crystal fucking clear if it wasn’t for us, Nicole Haught would be lying in a fucking body bag, and don’t you forget it”

“Waverly…” Nedley tried once more

“And we are grateful for you contribution…”

“Contribution? CONTRIBUTION… I’ll show you contribution…” the brunette shouted as she started to roll up her sleeves and rounded on the man in front of her

“WAVERLY” Nedley barked. The brunette had the foresight to stop-maintaining eye contact with the man in front of her as she did so

“This isn’t over” she muttered

“I think it probably is” he replied cockily

“Right, THAT’S IT” Waverly shouted, as she went for the man in front of her-being stopped only by Dolls wrapping his arm around her waist and lifting her away and into Nedley’s office

“Calm. Down.” Her partner whispered sternly into her ear

“PUT ME DOWN” she demanded as she tried in vain to struggle out of his grip

“Not until you’re good… Now… you good?”

“Oh for God SAKE” Waverly protested “Fine… I’m good, I’m good…”

Dolls gently placed her on the floor and loosened his grip. Waverly huffed out some air and threw herself down on the couch to the left of Nedley’s desk

“I know…” Nedley started sympathetically “But you can’t go around threatening federal officers”

“But he…”

“No buts Waverly… you know this is how the FBI work-they were always going to take over”

“It’s bullshit” the brunette said exasperatedly

“Be that as it may, it’s the rules… I don’t like it either, but it is what it is…”

Waverly looked over at her partner leaning against the door looking calm and not at all rattled

“How can you not be bothered by this?” she asked, irritation in her voice

“What’s the point of getting all bent out of shape?” he replied, a hint of a smile on his lips

“So all we need to do is let Lucado know where Nicole is, and our part is over… case closed” Nedley said

“No” Waverly stated defiantly

“What do you mean no?” 

“I mean no. Not until charges are brought” 

“Waverly, Lucado needs to speak to her agent and we are no longer involved in this case-I am ordering you to give over Agent Haught to the correct authorities”

“And with respect Sir, I am not prepared to do that until we know the case is solid”

“It’s got NOTHING to do with us” Nedley exploded

“Maybe not you Sir, but it has me, and if Lucado wants to know where Nicole is, she’ll have to get the results first”

“Earp, now you listen to me…” Nedley almost whispered with rage

“Get Sophia to call me and talk to me directly-I don’t want to argue with you Sir, but I will if you carry on with this… The ONLY person I am willing to discuss Nicole Haught with is Lucado herself”

“Are you saying you don’t trust me?” Nedley asked incredulously

“Quite the opposite Sir” Waverly softened “I’m saying I know you trust me implicitly and that you understand I wouldn’t disregard orders unless it was a life or death situation-and you and I both know that until the FBI bring charges to all involved, Nicole Haught is not safe… I’m sorry Randy, but she’s too vulnerable… this isn’t about you, this is about her…”

Nedley eyeballed the woman in front of him before turning to Dolls and asking him to give them the room for a moment. The stoic officer nodded and left quietly, moving no further than a couple of feet away from the closed door

“Waverly… what exactly is going on between you and Agent Haught?”

“Nothing Sir” Waverly replied 

“Waverly… Please have the decency to be honest with me”

“Nothing is going on between myself and Nicole Haught. We have a professional working relationship… I care about her, but it has been nothing but business between us Sir” Waverly said quietly. Whilst it wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t strictly true either. Nedley held her gaze a couple of beats longer before nodding slightly

“Don’t blur the lines… That’ll be all Waverly” Nedley dismissed

Waverly pulled the door open and let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding

“So what now?” Dolls asked 

“Now… we go and get lunch” Waverly replied defeatedly 

***

Nicole had made a list of things she needed Wynonna to buy in order for her to cook them some decent food. They only had the ingredients for a vegetable soup and Nicole had been less than inclined to make it-but Wynonna was trying to make her feel less crazy, and Nicole appreciated it more than she could articulate

She rummaged through the cupboards and found the old bread maker at the back end behind the pans. She pulled it out and started looking in the drawers for an instruction manual. Amazed that things were finally starting to go her way. Eventually she found it and held it aloft triumphantly shouting “AHA” to no-one in particular. 

Heading into the pantry, the redhead found the few things she needed and set about trying to find some scales so she could make them some soup and homemade bread for dinner before they headed out on the bike. 

Wynonna came in around 5PM muttering something under her breath about having to go out, but Nicole didn’t really pay it much attention as she flitted around the kitchen watching the soup thicken and making sure it didn’t catch

“So… change of plan… I gotta go out” Wynonna said with freshly washed hair and a look of irritation

“Oh…” Nicole said, hating that she sounded so crestfallen

“I’ll be back later”

“What about the shopping? And I’ve made us some soup”

“You sound like my wife”

“I feel like your wife” Nicole retorted

“If you were my wife at least I’d be getting laid-and I’ve already told you, that’s off limits… just deal with it like the rational grown up you and I both know you are” Wynonna replied. She watched the brunette walk to the door before she stopped and turned back to face Nicole

“The soup smells great, thank you-I’ll have it later…”

Nicole scowled as she watched the mechanic turn and leave the house without so much of a glance back to her

“For Fucks SAKE” Nicole screamed out into the lounge. She was pissed. She was pissed she had another night of sitting around on her own. She was pissed she had spent all afternoon prepping food for her only to be told it was unnecessary. She was pissed she wasn’t able to change a damn thing about her situation and she was pissed that all of this had her feeling so pissed. Wynonna didn’t owe her anything, she was being kept here for her own protection, and Nicole knew she had to obey orders until otherwise instructed. But she was just so… pissed

She sighed heavily and turned back into the kitchen, determined to enjoy the food she’d prepped. She hunted around the cupboards for a sign of any alcohol other than the Bubble Gum Saké she had discovered a week and a half previously

Resigned to another night of sobriety but feeling replenished from her meal, she settled on the couch with a book she had picked up in Waverly’s room. It was a series of letters between six sisters called ‘The Mitford’s’ who came from a wealthy British family. The women had corresponded over a 78 year period and the book shed new light on the high society siblings-some of whom were good, and some of whom were despicable. Nicole found the whole thing fascinating, and whilst she was annoyed she had been cast aside once again, she could at least lose herself in literature-something she relished but rarely managed

She awoke on the couch at just gone midnight with a crick in her neck and dribble on her shirt. Stretching out her body, wincing at the sound of various pops and crunches of muscles, Nicole stood and put her dishes away, locked the house up and made her way upstairs-too tired to be pissed that Wynonna still wasn’t home. She was just slipping into bed when she heard the tell-tale sign of the truck pulling up to the house. Nicole softly made her way over to the window, just to check it was who she thought, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the fading blue truck park up. She contemplated going down to read the brunette the riot act, but decided against it, and instead crawled into bed

She was just finishing off a chapter of her book when there was a tap at her door. Nicole huffed out some air and tried to ignore it, deciding Wynonna could wait to apologise properly, and sober, in the morning-but the brunette persisted, so Nicole flung the covers off and marched to the door, throwing it open as she barked ‘what?’

Hazel eyes met hers, and Nicole’s breath caught in her throat as Waverly Earp stared back at her

Without a second thought, Nicole crashed their lips together, pushing them against the bathroom door opposite the bedroom. Waverly’s hands wove into Nicole’s hair and the redhead supressed a smile when she felt the brunette pull her closer and run her tongue across her bottom lip. Both women moaned as the kiss deepened and before either of them could really register what they were doing, Nicole picked Waverly up and pushed her harder against the door, taking a sharp intake of breath as she felt the brunette wrap her legs around her torso and then roll her hips 

Nicole remained holding the smaller woman up as she swung them round and headed for the bedroom, carefully retracing her steps to the bed and gently laying Waverly down. Waverly’s grip tightened on Nicole’s neck and the redhead shivered as she felt Waverly’s nose run along her jaw line and the brunette take her earlobe into her mouth. Waverly breathed out into Nicole’s ear and the redhead couldn’t help but moan at the sensation

“Jesus Waverly” she whispered as the brunette ran her tongue from her ear down her neck, kissing and nipping her way to the collarbone sticking out from Nicole’s t-shirt

“Take this off” Waverly demanded, indicating the shirt currently restricting her ability to explore further. Nicole complied immediately, whipping the t-shirt over her head and then helping Waverly do the same. Both women made light work of stripping themselves fully of their clothes and diving back in for each other’s lips-kissing, biting, sucking and moaning against one another

Nicole hadn’t been with anyone in a long time-she couldn’t remember a time where she had wanted someone as much as she wanted the woman currently beneath her-and as Waverly wrapped a leg around Nicole’s torso and pulled her closer, Nicole could have been forgiven for thinking she was dreaming. But she wasn’t dreaming. A bite to her right nipple brought her out of her haze and she arched her back at the contact. Waverly flipped their positions and immediately continued the nipple play she had started, teasing with the left whilst flicking the right with her tongue. Nicole’s senses were in overload and she could only whimper as she felt Waverly descend further down her body and to where the redhead needed to feel her most

If Waverly was good at kissing, it was nothing compared to what she was doing to Nicole with her tongue-delicate yet firm, fast and then unbelievably slow, innocent and then filthy and Nicole was here for all of it. She treaded one hand into long brunette hair and smiled as Waverly threaded their fingers together in the other. She felt Waverly’s fingers of her other hand tease at her entrance and then slowly push inside her, waiting for the stretch before she slowly moving them in sync with Nicole’s hip rolls. 

Nicole’s mind went blank as she raised her hips off the bed and came against Waverly’s tongue with the brunettes fingers inside her. Her body writhed on the bed as she panted to catch her breath whilst simultaneously pulling Waverly up by her hair so they her facing each other once more. The kiss was slow and Nicole moaned once more as she tasted herself on Waverly’s lips and tongue

“Sorry…” Nicole whispered

“For what?”

“Ambushing you” 

“I’ve been wanting you to ambush me from the first second I saw you… have you any idea how disconcerting it was for me to want that from a gangster…” Waverly replied with a smile

Nicole laughed lightly and wrapped an arm around Waverly’s torso, pulling her closer “Hi”

“Hello” the brunette breathed out, kissing the collarbone in front of her

Nicole savoured the feeling of the smaller woman in her arms for a beat longer, before flipping their positions and threading a leg between Waverly’s thighs. Waverly sought friction immediately, grinding on Nicole’s thigh as she pulled the redhead closer once again with a leg

If either of them had been thinking slightly clearer, they wouldn’t have started this and would instead be having a much needed conversation-but the sexual tension that had built up between them over the course of three months was enough for both of them to momentarily lose their heads, and as Nicole pushed her fingers deep inside the brunette and curled them in such a way it had Waverly seeing stars, they clung to each other tightly, their foreheads pressed together and their breaths ragged

They should have stopped. They should have gotten it out of their system and then pulled apart, allowing for the reality of the situation to fall between them. But they didn’t. Waverly’s hand wound its way between them and they both continued to lavish attention onto one another again and again. They slid together, they tasted one another, they were quick, they were slow and eventually, when exhaustion took over, they lay in each other’s arms, and slept-talking could wait-but for tonight, all that mattered was that they were finally together

***

Waverly always slept best when at the homestead. It was ironic in a way that the house that had held so many bad memories was still the one place she felt most at peace. She opened her eyes slowly and tried to remain still-not wanting to wake the woman asleep in her arms. Nicole Haught. She had hoped their relationship would develop beyond colleagues-and she would be lying if she said she hadn’t hoped last night would turn out the way it did. But she had thought they might talk first. Waverly knew the intimacy was inevitable. It had been clear from the start there was an attraction between them-and the closer they got to one another, the more heat there had been. And she knew they could make magic. You don’t have that sort of chemistry with someone only to be disappointed. But she couldn’t help but feel concerned they had allowed their lust addled brains to fuel them before their minds had caught up with the situation. 

Any doubt Waverly had was thrown out of the window the moment Nicole Haught stretched her body out against Waverly’s torso and pulled the brunettes arms closer around her. Waverly smiled slightly and kissed the bare shoulder in front of her, which elicited a hum from the woman in her arms

Nicole moved Waverly’s palm up to her lips and kissed it softly before reaching behind her and pulling Waverly flush against her back

“Morning” Nicole sighed contentedly, resting her hand on Waverly’s thigh 

Waverly couldn’t help but kiss the top of Nicole’s shoulder again and squeezed her tighter 

“Hey…” the brunette replied

“Of all the things I thought I’d be doing in your childhood room, this is definitely not one of them”

“I am inclined to agree with you” Waverly chuckled “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah….” Nicole said through a yawn. The redhead rolled over onto her back and smiled, and Waverly realised quite how far gone she was. It was like a freight train had hit her. Her stomach twisted and yet she had butterflies. She felt anxious but the calmest she had in a long time. She felt light headed and the most succinct she had ever felt. And it scared the shit out of her.

“Hey… what’s wrong?” Nicole asked with a slight frown

“Nothing…” Waverly smiled “You want some breakfast?”

“Don’t do that” Nicole replied softly

“Do what?”

“Deflect… What’s going on? Are you… I mean… Do I need to put clothes on?”

Waverly smiled down at the woman genuinely and stroked her face “No Nicole… I was just thinking how I don’t think I ever want you to put clothes on again…”

“Your sister would find that incredibly uncomfortable” Nicole replied with a relieved smile

“True… But I could live with that” Waverly joked

Nicole laughed lightly and Waverly knew she wanted to spend a long time making sure she got Nicole Haught to do that whenever she could

“We have a million things we need to talk about” Waverly said instead

“Yeah…”

“And we really should talk about them…”

“I know” Nicole replied as she turned to Waverly and pushed the brunette flat onto the bed “But how about we compromise…”

“How so?” Waverly said as a smile formed and she pulled Nicole on top of her

“How about when we’re in here, it’s just us… and when we’re downstairs, we can be the responsible adults we both know we need to be?” Nicole whispered as she ran her nose up the side of Waverly’s neck and kissed her lightly on her jaw

“That sounds like an excellent idea” Waverly agreed as she wrapped her leg around Nicole’s waist and pulled her in for a searing kiss


	15. Chapter 15

“Wynonna said there may be soup…” Waverly said as she joined Nicole in the kitchen. They had managed to tear themselves away from one another and shower separately-Nicole deciding to go first so she could make them some lunch

“Speaking of Wynonna, where is she?”

“She’s stayed at Gus’s house last night-I said we needed some space”

“She didn’t mind?” Nicole asked surprised as she reached for a couple of bowls and spoons

“I advised her not to be here” Waverly replied as she sat at the kitchen table and watched Nicole dish some soup out into a smaller saucepan and start to heat it up on the stove

“Why?” Nicole questioned over her shoulder

“Because, Nicole Rayleigh Haught, I planned on spending a large amount of time getting to know exactly what you did, and did not like to have done to you… and trust me, my sister didn’t need to hear it” Waverly replied honestly

Nicole hated that the tips of her ears had gone red “Oh…”

“You’re cute when your embarrassed” Waverly said with a smile

“Stop it” Nicole said with a grin “We’re grownups now remember?”

“How could I forget” Waverly replied exasperatedly “But you’re right… I need to bring you up to speed… and I’ve brought you some things to make going out a little easier”

“Really?” Nicole asked excitedly

“Yep… I’ve got some wigs, some make-up and some hair dye-I didn’t know what you’d be comfortable with” Waverly explained “But you might not need anything for much longer”

Nicole placed the bowls in front of them and took a spoonful “How so?”

“Rita Svane was captured yesterday afternoon in Banff”

“What? How the hell did that happen?” Nicole asked surprised

“A broken taillight of all things… apparently she was absolutely furious when she realised it was something so simple… luckily for Levi they had been separated so he didn’t have to experience her wrath” Waverly replied “And we’ve found the connection between Michael Irving and Joshua Walker-turns out Josh has a very nasty coke habit and he owes the Revenant’s thousands of Dollars… he was arrested yesterday and caved almost immediately… Says he’s been waiting for this day to arrive…”

“Jesus…” Nicole said

“He was told if he managed to sign you out of the station, his debt would be cleared… He claimed he didn’t know what they were planning to do with you… he’s been charged with corruption and they’re currently arguing about how much information he can provide for a shorter sentence… So far he’s given over enough on Irving to put him away for a long time-but there isn’t a link between him and Eliza Shapiro and why they got you out…”

“So Eliza is dirty?” Nicole said disappointedly “I’d really hoped we’d got that wrong…”

“Well, that’s more complicated. Yes, it would appear she is-but we don’t know why she’s dirty… Walker was easy-as soon as he said drugs, it all slotted into place-but right now, Shapiro has a connection to Rita Svane and that’s it-we don’t know why… She was taken in last night following Rita’s arrest-but Lucado wants to keep her for a while before she’s questioned” Waverly said “Sophia went straight to Banff and has been trying to break Rita”

“So Rita and Eliza are in some sort of relationship?” Nicole asked incredulously

“Well from what we’ve seen-it looks that way… they were on holiday together a month ago-but so far Rita isn’t giving us anything-so unless Lucado cracks her, we have nothing to go on…”

“What’s Rita been arrested for?”

“Well that’s the other thing-we know she’s involved, but from the outside, she’s as clean as they come-the only thing she’s technically done wrong is flee the scene during the raid… If we can’t pin her and Shapiro to corruption, we’re a little lost…”

Nicole took a moment to digest all the information Waverly had unloaded “So wait… Svane and Shapiro could just… get away with it?”

“Well that’s what they’re trying to ascertain right now… Unless we can prove Eliza signed you out with the intention of handing you over to Svane, we’re fucked…”

“So it’s going to come down to either breaking Eliza or Rita?”

“Looks that way…”

“And what about Falco?”

“They have to recording in the barn, plus your testimony, so he’s definitely going down-and we have Bobo for killing Doc Holliday, so in that respect, it was a resounding success…” Waverly tried to assure the redhead-but she knew that wasn’t enough for the woman in front of her

“How did Falco know about Doc?”

“They’re still trying to figure that out…” Waverly said

“Okay… so in terms of me being here… how do we move forward?”

“Well until they’ve brought charges, I don’t think you should go anywhere…” Waverly stated simply

Nicole breathed out. They both turned their attention to the soup in front of them and took a few moments with their thoughts

“So… about last night…” Waverly said after a couple of minutes 

“Yeah…” Nicole nodded as she put her spoon into her empty bowl and sat back “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking it was incredible…”

“But…” Nicole questioned quietly

“But nothing… that’s it… it was incredible” Waverly replied simply “And I would like to do it again… regularly…”

“You would?” Nicole breathed out in a relieved sigh

“I would”

“Well that is very good news…” Nicole said

“Okay… good…” Waverly leant forward and was about to capture Nicole’s lips with her own when the redhead stood and lifted her up onto the kitchen table, narrowly avoiding the crockery spread out on it. The kiss deepened and as Waverly started to undo the belt to Nicole’s pants and the redhead started on the buttons of the smaller woman’s blouse the door to the house flew open and Wynonna Earp stood on the threshold 

“For Fucks sake, haven’t you gotten it out of your system?” the raven haired woman said furiously “I’ve got shit to do”

“Nonna” Waverly barked “Jesus give us a fucking break”

“I DID give you a break, but this is my house and I don’t need to see my sister getting her rocks off on the kitchen fucking table”

“Oh for God sake” Waverly muttered “FINE”

Nicole stood blinking at the scene in front of her-unsure whether to laugh or cry. Waverly took her hand and dragged her towards the stairs 

“I suggest you stay out of my room” Waverly instructed her older sister as she marched them both up the stairs

“Well keep it down, I gotta make some phone calls” Wynonna shouted after them

“That’s physically impossible” Waverly bit back

“Waverly I got business to attend to”

“Use the office-it’s what it’s there for” Waverly retorted “You’ve been warned”

Nicole watched the brunette shout the last bit from her doorway of her bedroom before she closed it softly and turned towards her

“Sorry…” Waverly said sheepishly

“Don’t be…” Nicole replied with a smile “Come here”

Waverly made her way over to the redhead and sat down on the bed next to her

“When do you have to go?”

“In the morning… I took a sick day” Waverly answered sheepishly

“I think I’m going to come with you”

“Nicole… it’s not…”

“Waverly, I am an FBI agent-I have been threatened more times than I can remember, and I have a job to do…” Nicole reasoned

“I know, but…”

“Hey, I appreciate what you and Dolls did more than you know, and Wynonna has been great, but it’s time I stop hiding and get back to work… besides, I’m guessing the FBI have removed you from the case? So who’s looking out for me now huh?” Nicole asked with a smile

“Yeah… the FBI are a bunch of arrogant pricks”

Nicole pulled Waverly into her and kissed the top of her head “I know baby”

Waverly leaned further into the embrace and hummed contentedly “So what do you want to do? You want to head back tonight?”

“No… let’s stay here tonight… I’ll head to Banff in the morning and see Lucado then see where she wants me”

They remained sitting beside each other for a couple of minutes before Waverly stood and reached her hand out for Nicole to take

“Come on…” the brunette said to her

“Where are we going?”

“I’m going to drag you to Shorty’s and get you a little bit afternoon drunk” Waverly said with a smile

“A little afternoon drunk?” Nicole asked as she stood up to face the smaller woman in front of her

“Yep… and I’m going to beat you at pool, and make you listen to terrible pop music, and eat shitty food, and then I’m going to drag you out the back and have my way with you in the store room” 

Nicole laughed lightly and shook her head “I. Can’t. Wait” she said as she peppered Waverly with kisses 

***

Nicole walked into Banff station the following afternoon and found the chief of the station immediately. She introduced herself and asked if she could be directed towards Special Agent Sophia Lucado-her polite approach and calm demeanour not lost on the station captain. After her credentials were approved, she was shown to the observation room and asked to wait until the latest round of questioning had completed before they interrupt. Nicole gratefully accepted the offer of coffee and stood behind the two way mirror watching Lucado with Rita Svane. 

Svane looked bored and Lucado looked frustrated. Nicole was itching to get in there and question the woman herself, but she knew that wouldn’t be the best idea-Svane was likely to clam up even more with Nicole in the room.

Half an hour later, Svane’s lawyer was asking for a break and Lucado saw no reason to deny it, so she announced they interview was pausing, and left the room-heading straight into the observation room that Nicole was currently occupying. The door opened and Lucado walked in, stopping as soon as she saw the redhead in front of her

“Well am I glad to see you” the blonde woman said simply as she approached the taller woman and wrapped her arms around her

“Hey Sophia… how you doing?” Nicole asked as she reciprocated the embrace

“She is like concrete” Lucado replied drily “How are YOU doing? Waverly Earp finally let you go huh?”

“She took some persuading” Nicole said-managing to hide her blush as she thought back to what they had spent most of the previous evening and some of the morning doing

“It is so good to see your face… Have you been brought up to speed?”

“Only by Waverly-how’s it going?”

“We can’t seem to get either of them to crack”

“Rita and Levi?”

“No, Rita and Eliza-Levi is just the driver…” Lucado replied absently

“So what are you thinking the link is?” Nicole said instead, changing the subject 

“Damned if I know…” Lucado answered honestly before she looked at the redhead “What do you reckon?”

“Well…” Nicole started “Look, I don’t want to tread on any toes…”

“Nicole, I’m dying out here, any help you can offer would be appreciated, not rebuffed…”

“Okay…” Nicole said with a nod of her head “Leave her for a bit-she’s not giving you anything anyway and if you tell her something more important has come up, it’ll rattle her-she’s a narcissist… and if you would let me, I’d like to have a chat with Levi… He is more astute than anyone has ever given him credit for…” 

“Alright… Any tips on Bobo? He’s doing exactly the same as his wife in there…”

“Bobo is a performer at heart… the easiest way to get him talking is to give him an audience he wants to impress…”

“We can’t let you in the same room as him Nicole” Lucado started to reason

“Not me Ma’am-he’s never tried to impress me… If I were you, I’d get Waverly Earp in there with him”

“Waverly doesn’t work for us” Lucado said pointedly

“I know, but he’s borderline obsessed with her Ma’am… he’s like a peacock… let him show off to her… it can’t do any harm and he may give us something useful on how the hell Rita is connected to all this…”

Lucado took a deep breath before conceding the redhead had a point “Okay, you deal with Levi, and I will deal with Waverly Earp”

Nicole nodded her head in agreement and then finished off the lukewarm coffee, whilst Lucado arranged for Levi Cooper to be brought to another interview room. She stretched out her arms and touched her toes a couple of times-a ritual she did before every interview she conducted-then made sure she had a bottle of water for the prisoner before opening the door and walking into the room.

Levi Cooper looked up from the table and his face went from boredom to startled as soon as he clocked the redhead

“Nicole…” he said, looking like he was going to stand, but then thinking better of it

“Hi Levi… How are you doing? You need some water or a coffee or anything?” Nicole replied not unkindly

“I’m fine, thank you” 

Nicole nodded and took the chair opposite the man. They had always gotten along-their personal lives linking them in a way not many in their environment understood

“So it’s true then… you’re a fed…” Levi said with a hollow laugh

“I am…” Nicole replied simply

“Well fuck me… you certainly had me fooled…” he chuckled “Does Bobo know?”

“I imagine he does…” Nicole said, and smiled when Levi started to laugh

“Man, I bet he was pissed… You should have heard Rita on the subject…”

“Oh yeah?” Nicole asked almost rhetorically 

“Yeah… you know what she’s like… I’d say she was more pissed she didn’t know already, truth be told”

“How do you mean?” Nicole asked curiously

“Well you know Rita, she’s the neck you know” Levi said 

“What do you mean she’s the neck?” Nicole questioned

“Bobo might be the head, but she’s the neck-turns him this way and that to get the results she wants-at least, that’s how I’ve always seen their dynamic… and she likes to think she knows everything”

“I guess I never thought of it like that…” Nicole said quietly “Tell me something, do you think she knew about the raid? I didn’t know, but you guys got out of there so quickly I can’t help but think she had a heads up”

“Nah… She and I were in the office talking about the plans for the morning when we heard the explosion-I grabbed the keys and we headed out before they reached the house-man she was pissed” he admitted with another chuckle

“Quick thinking on your part Levi”

“I’m good at my job” he retorted-a hint of pride seeping into his voice

“I know that… the amount of shit I saw you put up with… you’re loyal to fault right?”

“Right” he said, staring Nicole in the eye

They were quiet a moment, seemingly trying to figure out each other’s next move 

“You managed to speak to Fish yet?” Nicole asked

Levi took a sharp intake of breath and shook his head “No…”

“Okay… you answer some questions for me, and I’ll see if I can change that”

“Depends what you want to know…”

Nicole knew this was the make or break moment-Levi knew something, Nicole just needed to coax it out of him

“Well, I am a little confused about some stuff…” Nicole started “Like why the hell were you in Banff? The minute I knew you’d gotten away from the house, I just assumed you’d head straight to the border…”

Levi looked at Nicole for a moment, clearly making a decision in his head “No, no, no, no, no… that’s not how this works and you know it Agent Haught…”

“I tell you what Levi, why don’t you tell us what you want and I’ll see if it’s an option?”

“Immunity… and I want Fish and I protected… you know more than anyone how dangerous the Del Rey’s are… I want protection…”

Nicole sat back and looked at the man in front of her for a beat before tilting her head and smiling “How do I know what you have is worth that sort of deal Levi… I can help you, but I need to know what you’re offering…”

“We were in Banff waiting to get a location on you”

“Why?”

“Because, Nicole Haught… FBI Agent… Rita Svane was planning to kill you”

“That’s your word against hers Levi…”

“Well that would be true of course… if I hadn’t recorded it…” Levi said almost triumphantly

“You what?” Nicole said surprised

“Nicole, I’ve been working for the Del Rey’s for seven years-I learnt a long time ago that if I was ever going to get away from them alive, I was going to have to look after myself… I have conversations recorded-some of which explicitly say that Rita was waiting on a location on you from her daughter”

“Her daughter? What daughter?”

“I thought you knew” Levi said. He started to chuckle to himself before it turned into a full belly laugh “Eliza Shapiro is Rita’s daughter”


	16. Chapter 16

“Her WHAT?” Lucado exploded

“Her daughter” Nicole said simply “According to Levi”

“How the hell is that even a thing? We do extensive background checks when someone signs up” Lucado questioned

“I guess that’s something we need to figure it out” Nicole replied “Look, the most important thing is we potentially have a recording of Rita Svane conspiring to kill an FBI Agent”

“This is unbelievable” Lucado whispered as she shook her head “How do we get this recording?”

“He wants immunity and witness protection for him and his partner Fish” Nicole replied “I said we could help, but that we need to hear it and have it tested by our guys before we agree”

“Okay… Great work Nicole” Lucado said with a nod

“To be honest Ma’am, Levi was always going to break-if he hadn’t done so, I would have threatened Fish-he’d do anything for that man” Nicole admitted. She was secretly relieved she hadn’t had to resort to dirty tactics-she had always liked the couple

They were brought out of their respective dazes by a tapping on the door. Lucado shouted an invitation and it opened to reveal the station captain looking harassed

“Sorry to interrupt, but I’ve had an officer at precinct nineteen in the city phone my switch board every fifteen minutes for the last three hours asking to speak to you Agent, and whilst I have managed to keep her at bay, she has just told us if you don’t call her back immediately, she will continue to call every five minutes until you do-and frankly Agent Lucado, I have neither the time nor the inclination to answer those calls”

“Let me guess… Waverly Earp” Lucado said with a hint of a smile

“The very one…” he replied “She has asked for you to facetime her-apparently she and a man called Jeremy Chetri have information regarding your investigation and she wants to ‘look you in the eye’ as she gives it… that’s a direct quote…” he sighed

“Thank you Sir” Nicole said, biting back a smile as she imagined Waverly harassing this guy to within an inch of his life. He nodded his appreciation and left the women alone-Lucado watching him go and then turning to the redhead

“On a scale of one to ten, what are the chances that Waverly Earp has ignored every single order to back off that I have given her and is about to appear with the biggest smile on her damn face and with information we should have known about weeks ago?”

“I’d say a strong eight and a half” Nicole replied “But she’s damn good at investigating Ma’am, and she wouldn’t hassle you if it wasn’t important”

“Oh I agree… If I thought for one minute I could get her to join us at the bureau I’d snap her up in an instant-but I know it’s a lost cause… she’s a damn fine cop-but a cop none the less”

“Yeah, she may be a little pissed at being cast aside…” Nicole warned “But facetime her and see what she has-I’ll step out if you want?” Nicole offered

“Absolutely not-stay in the room, but can you be opposite me-I might need your opinion off screen”

“Of course” Nicole smiled. She had only left the brunette that morning, both women knowing they wouldn’t be able to see each other until this was all over and Nicole had completed her rehabilitation back into work

Lucado dialled the number and was unsurprised when the call was picked up almost immediately

“Finally” Waverly’s voice said into the room, Nicole had to bite the inside of her cheek again to stop the grin erupting onto her face

“My apologies Waverly, I’ve just got your messages-I have been pre-occupied interviewing suspects most of the day”

“I know, sorry-I mean no disrespect Sophia, but this really couldn’t wait… This is my colleague Jeremy-he’s the one that found the photographs of Eliza and Rita-but there’s more…”

“I hate to break it to you Waverly but we already know about Rita and Eliza-Nicole got Levi to talk earlier and he filled us in”

“I’m not talking about Rita and Eliza-which, by the way-curve ball… I’m talking about her father…” Waverly said 

Lucado glanced up at the redhead-who had the good grace to look sheepish

“After Nic sent us that text, Jeremy did some more digging and discovered Eliza Shapiro was raised predominantly by her dad-we’ve looked into the guy, and you’re never going to guess where he works…”

“Where?” Lucado asked

“He runs the seized goods depot for the NYPD just outside the city…” Waverly said 

“What?” Lucado replied looking up at Nicole 

“I had Jeremy look into inventory of the depot over the last six months… It all seems above board-they check in the evidence, have a recount and log it all onto a computer system-only there’s a pattern-a discrepancy in the numbers logged… never a huge amount-enough to be explained as human error and not look suspicious-but Sophia… its always weapons…” Waverly informed them

“Are you saying that Eliza Shapiro’s father is skimming weapons from the NYPD warehouse?”

“I am certain of it… And I’m pretty sure if we look at the weapons seized the night of the raid, some will fit with the ones missing from the NYPD initial inventory-I think Eliza Shapiro and Rita Svane sold the weapons to Irving for him to exchange with Bobo-who was then selling on to Falco…” Waverly finished triumphantly

“Effectively making double the money…” Nicole whispered. She got up and walked behind Lucado so she could see the screen “Hi guys”

“Nicole… Hey” Waverly said with an affectionate smile “Jeremy, this is Nicole Haught”

Introductions done, Waverly was straight back to business-something Nicole Haught found almost irresistible about the brunette

“So do you want to hear my theory and my suggestion on how we move forward? Or shall we just sit tight for three weeks until you guys have caught up?” Waverly asked

Lucado rolled her eyes at the brunette “I’m all ears…”

“So…” Waverly started, before pausing to take a mouthful of coffee “Research suggests that women within the Mafia are becoming more and more prevalent-you only have to look at the ‘Penelope case’ in Italy to see that… I think we have our own Maria Campagna on our hands…” 

“Who?” Nicole asked 

“Maria Campagna-she was the wife of a mafia boss over in Italy-as soon as he was arrested, his wife Maria Penelope Campagna took control of all aspects of his business-and she was very successful at it” Lucado filled in

“Hence operation ‘Penelope’” Waverly continued “I think what we have here is a classic case of ambition”

“So you think Rita was planning to take over Del Rey’s business?” Nicole questioned

“Not just Bobo’s-I think she was intending to seize control of all three clans” Waverly finished

“That’s an… interesting theory…” Lucado said “How did you get there?”

“Well, who else was going to take over? Falco is so paranoid, he basically has foot soldiers for deputies, and Irving and his cronies are essentially Del Rey’s drug mules… If Rita took control, she would be one of the most powerful women in the country- I think she has always intended to get rid of all three men and swoop in and take over-having a daughter in the organised crime department of the FBI would ensure anonymity and make her virtually untouchable”

“But what about me?” Nicole asked “Surely she wouldn’t have known I was a fed?”

“On the contrary, I think we played straight into her hands. She was always supportive of you Nicole-you said yourself she championed you-I think she knew EXACTLY who you were, and I think she was always intending to allow you to break up the gangs-ensuring she would be able to pick up the pieces…”

“If your theory is correct-and it’s a BIG if right now, we still have no way of proving it…”

“Well, if we can compare the guns found at our raid to the ones shipped to the depot, we could theoretically match them up-thus linking the depot to Svane and Shapiro” Jeremy said suddenly

“Most of the guns don’t have serial numbers though” Lucado highlighted

“We figured as much-however, as luck would have it, the NYPD take individual photos before they get shipped-and tag them into a database. I’ve managed to get a hold of the photos from the last drop off-if we can match some of the weapons from your bust to the photos on the database, we have our evidence right?” Jeremy replied

“That is a huge task” Lucado answered

“Not necessarily-I have a… piece of software I could use…” Jeremy stammered “If you give me access to your chain of evidence, I could do comparisons on the two sets of photos…”

“Of course you can have access-but you’ll have to come to us” Lucado said

“That’s not all…” Waverly started “We may have obtained the NYPD records slightly illegally…”

“What?” Lucado asked incredulously “Waverly, you can’t just…”

“Well we have” the brunette cut in “so we need you to give us backdated clearance…”

“This software… how illegal is it?” Lucado asked

“Probably best not to ask” Waverly said at the same time Jeremy said “Very”

“For fuck sake Earp” Lucado muttered “Okay fine, we’re staying in Banff tonight-can you get over here? I have a laptop you can use and a secure line”

“We’re already here” Waverly replied

“Of course you are” Lucado sighed

***

Waverly looked almost defiant as her and Jeremy walked into the police station in Banff. Jeremy, on the other hand, looked mortified

“Sophia, Nicole, it’s good to see you again” Waverly said 

“You too” Nicole replied, picking up on the business tone Waverly was addressing them both with and leading them into an empty room-whatever was happening with them personally, neither women had time to think beyond the reasons why they were all there

“This could take a while…” Jeremy said as he looked around the small office the FBI had commandeered at the tiny police station 

“As I say, the line is secure and I can log you onto our infrastructure so you can get started” Lucado replied “And here… I’ve managed to get you clearance for the NYPD records solely based on the new evidence we have connecting Shapiro with this guy so you are no longer working illegally”

Waverly nodded and smiled “Thank you, sorry to put you on the spot” 

Lucado sighed but turned and pinned a police identity headshot of a man in his late forties with dark blonde hair and a baby faced smile alongside one of Rita Svane and another of Eliza Shapiro

“Simon Antonio Francellio” Nicole started “Born in Queens in 1973 to Italian immigrants from Perugia. Met Luisa Margarita Barrone-known to us as Rita Svane in 1991 when he was 18 and she was 23. They had a daughter, Francesca Elizabeth Barrone in 1992” 

“It would appear Rita left them shorty into 1993-not sure why yet-we have researchers looking into her now, but we do know that Rita and Simon have been in steady contact for all that time. Their daughter, known to us as FBI Agent Eliza Shapiro, became an Agent four years ago, and was picked to work in organised crime 18 months since. She has shown nothing but professionalism and due diligence within that time” Lucado finished

“When did you first approach Falco and Irving?” Waverly asked

“Well we first approached Falco about two years ago-but actually only in the last eight months have we been seriously negotiating with the Revenants” Nicole informed them “Initially though, our deal with Falco was for casino rights”

“Okay, but talk us through how the whole Irving/Falco/Del Rey scenario came about-like whose idea was it?” Waverly questioned further

“Bobo suggested we get involved in trading weapons-I knew we wanted all three gang leaders if possible, so Sophia and I decided to suggest to Bobo that Irving be the one to transport for us-that way we could pay him in drugs and receive hard cash from Falco” Nicole answered

“Sure, but if you hadn’t of suggested Irving, how was Bobo planning on getting weapons across the border? I thought Irving was the one that brought the weapons to the table?” the brunette queried

“As far as I knew, it WAS Irving that brought the weapons-but I wasn’t at every meeting, and it now seems that Rita was in Bobo’s ear at home”

“Okay, but at some point someone sat down and said I know where we can get some weapons” Waverly said

“And as I’ve said, I don’t know when that happened… you’re questioning the wrong person here Waverly” Nicole replied irritated 

Waverly looked Nicole in the eye and took a breath “Hey, I’m not questioning you Nicole-but if we are going to figure out how the hell this is all connected, we ALL need the information-Jeremy and I are playing catch up here… this isn’t an attack-it’s quite the opposite”

“Okay, sorry… I just-I’ve been thrown for a loop here too-and I thought Eliza was a friend” Nicole admitted

Lucado and Jeremy continued to watch the pair quietly before Sophia decided she needed to step in “Okay, look what we DO know is that Shapiro, Svane and this guy Francellio all appear to be working together, but we DON’T know how they got Bobo to agree and more importantly WHY they got involved”

Waverly broke eye contact with Nicole and turned to the blonde woman “Right… so we’re assuming Bobo knew there was a skimmer in the warehouse-which means he must have known about Shapiro and Rita right?” 

“Correct” Lucado agreed “I think we need to go and have another chat with Mr Del Rey”

“Ma’am, I think Waverly should be the one to question him-as I’ve said before, he isn’t interested in pluming his feathers to just anyone… the whole reason why we kept Earp on the case was to rattle him-let her do her job” Nicole suggested softly 

Lucado looked like she was about to protest when she felt a hand on her forearm-turning to look at the smaller woman now beside her

“Doesn’t matter how we get him right? As long as we do…” Waverly said-nothing but kindness in her eyes

“Okay… you two can stay here tonight-it’s too late to start now, and I think we need to get you as up to speed as possible on Bobo before you go in there-Haught can you brief Waverly with the do’s and don’ts? And then we can all meet for dinner and get some strategies in place? I will get Jeremy set up and then see what our tech guys think of these tapes and work on the immunity deal. Sound good?”

“Yes Ma’am” Nicole said, not looking at Waverly

“Great” Waverly chimed in, trying to keep the apprehension out of her voice

“You’ll have to use my room for now-we haven’t got you guys sorted with a place to stay-but take my key-it’s the motel across the street-room 14”

Nicole let out a sigh and took the card from her boss, turning to Waverly with a tight smile “Shall we?”

“Yeah… yeah sure-you okay Jer?”

“Me? Yeah, I’m good at the moment, come back in an hour and see me then though” he joked as the two women left the room

Nicole strode across the street, Waverly walking slightly behind the redhead-deciding she wasn’t going to try and keep up. They got to room 14 and Nicole held the door open for the brunette, barely looking as she walked past her and into the room

The door slammed shut and Waverly was startled as she felt herself spun round and pushed against the door, Nicole’s lips on hers. The kiss was fierce and took Waverly’s breath away as it deepened momentarily, before slowing right down 

“I thought you were mad?” Waverly said breathlessly

“You are extraordinary when you work” Nicole replied barely above a whisper 

“We can’t have sex in Sophia’s room” Waverly said bluntly

“I know” Nicole laughed “But I’ve wanted to do that since you walked in… sorry…”

“Sorry for finding me attractive?” Waverly teased with an arched eyebrow “I think I can cope with it”

Nicole leant down again and pecked the smaller woman softly “Okay, now I’ve got that out of my system, shall we get on?”

Waverly laughed lightly and pushed herself from the door, running her hand through her hair as she walked further into the room

“Okay… So… tell me everything I need to know about Bobo Del Rey…”


	17. Chapter 17

Two coffee’s and four hours later, Nicole and Waverly were brought out of their meeting by frantic knocking on the door. Nicole frowned and got up, opening it quickly to reveal Jeremy on the other side

“Sorry to interrupt guys, but a team from NYC have just appeared and are trying to extradite Rita… Lucado is currently at loggerheads with them-I think she could do with some back-up”

Nicole grabbed her jacket and the room key and rushed out, closely followed by Waverly and Jeremy-reaching the station and crashing into their office at lightning speed

“What’s going on?” Waverly asked, slightly out of breath

“Nicole, Waverly…” Lucado started as she turned to face her three makeshift colleagues

“Hi” a woman said from beside her “I’m Special Agent Mattie Perley-I run the organised crime team out of New York-I believe we have you to thank for capturing Luisa Barrone-this is a huge coup for us, thank you Agent” a dark haired woman said to Nicole-offering her hand for the redhead to shake

Nicole took the woman’s hand and absentmindedly shook it as she looked at her boss, trying to figure out what was happening

“What the hell is going on?” Waverly asked from beside the taller woman

“You must be Detective Waverly Earp-thank you to you and your team too-you’ve done a brilliant job in uncovering this operation, but I’m afraid Luisa has been on our most wanted list for a while, and as such, we have special dispensation to extradite her to New York” the woman stated simply-like there was no argument

“You can’t do that” Waverly argued

“On the contrary Detective Earp, I have privileges that allow me to do exactly that-I’m afraid my crimes trump yours…”

“But this is bullshit” Waverly started to protest

“Look, why don’t we sit down and I’ll explain everything-I realise this is frustrating, but believe me, we have been after Luisa for a very long time-and once I’ve gone through her back story, I’m sure you’ll agree the only option is for Barrone to come back with me and my team”

Lucado took a deep breath but nodded her ascent, pulling out a chair and sitting at the table in the centre of the room. Nicole sighed and did the same. Waverly moved behind the now seated pair with her arms folded, indicating she was listening, but had no intention of sitting down. 

Jeremy Chetri had sat down at his computer the minute they’d entered the room, so he merely looked up from his screen and offered a smile to the stranger

“Luisa Barrone was the third child born to notorious New York gangster Vincenzo and Margarita Barrone. Barrone was prevalent in racketeering, money laundering, drugs, guns, you name it-Barrone was running it. He was known for his temper, his distrust and his ambition-like most gangsters-he always strove for more. We’re not quite sure how it happened, but Luisa was introduced and later married this guy…” Perley opened a file and passed a mug shot of a man in his twenties “Marco Pollecio-he was a relatively new boss running out of Chicago, met and married Luisa in 1996”

Perley then passed over another photo-this one a crime scene photograph showing a car gnarled and burnt out “He and his two deputies were killed in a car bomb in early 1998-the clan were in disarray, so Luisa suggested her older brother, Vinnie Jr step up as interim boss-needless to say, he was leader until his death in 2013”

“So are you saying Rita was responsible for her husband’s death and the subsequent handing over to her brother?” Nicole asked

“That’s not all…” Mattie replied, before picking up a second file and pulling out a mug shot of a man in his 50’s “Luca Ricci, leader of a family in Miami. Met and married Luisa in 2001”

She handed over a crime scene photograph of what looked like a massacre-bodies strewn through-out a dining room

“Supposedly killed in an ambush by a rival in March 2004-as most of the men found were important figureheads within Ricci’s clan, Luisa suggested her middle brother, Giuseppe take the helm-he was arrested three years ago for bribing judges and extortion”

“Jesus…” Waverly whispered-realising there was a third folder in Mattie Perley’s hand

“Alessandro Romano” The Agent began again “met Luisa at a wedding in 2006-leader of a family out in Las Vegas-ran casino’s and used them to launder money…”

She reached into the file and brought out a crime scene photograph of a boat crash “Killed in a boating accident in LA in 2009… three guesses who took over the business…”

“So Rita Svane is responsible for marrying powerful gangsters through-out America and what? Placing her brothers in charge once the dust settles?” Lucado asked

“Her father was the mastermind of it all-once his three sons were ensconced in the roles, Luisa went to him and asked to be put in charge of her own clan. Vincenzo refused and according to various witnesses, she stormed out-leaving her family and her responsibilities behind her-we have been searching for her since 2009” Perley continued “She vanished-no one seemed to know where she was, or what she was up to-until your man here did some digging and realised that Luisa Barrone had been masquerading as Rita Svane for 8 years”

Jeremy looked down at his computer and blushed-unsure how to take the praise

“So you see, whilst I realise you guys need to prosecute her for her part in your operation-surely you can appreciate our need to take her in…”

Even Waverly had to admit there was no arguing with that logic

“Does she know you’re here?” Nicole asked suddenly

“Not yet, we wanted to do this as officially and above board as possible-we can’t fuck this up” Mattie replied

“That’s fair…” Nicole said through a sigh. She couldn’t help but feel despondent. She had spent three years of her life trying to catch Bobo and by association Falco and Irving-but when it came down to it-they were the least of her worries. She felt like she had been played for a fool, and it sat heavy within her mind

“Can we talk to her before she goes? Whilst I realise you need to take her-and we won’t argue on that-you have to recognise I still have to tie up some loose ends” Lucado ventured

“Of course-we can’t transport her before the morning anyway, so she’s all yours for the rest of the night” Perley said with a smile. Nicole felt for the woman-she had been chasing Luisa Barrone for years, and it can’t be easy to walk up to another team and steal their win away from them

“Thank you Agent” Lucado began “Haught, Earp, stay here whilst I show Perley and her Agents where they can freshen up”

Nicole and Waverly watched the two women walk out of the room and waited for the door to close before either of them said anything

“FUCKING FBI” Waverly shouted out in frustration

“I’m… err… just going to err… yeah” Jeremy said as he got up from his chair quickly and left the room

“Not all of us are arseholes” Nicole replied once Jeremy had left

“I know, but seriously, this has happened to me TWICE in the last 72 hours…” the brunette grumbled

“Think yourself lucky-you haven’t just wasted 3 years of your life” Nicole retorted

Waverly stopped and looked at the deflated redhead 

“Hey, you set out to get rid of the three biggest gangs in the district-if not the country-and you did that Nic, don’t diminish the worth in that”

“Don’t fucking patronise me” Nicole snapped as she stood up and headed for the door

“Hey” Waverly retaliated “Don’t do that. Don’t you DARE take this out on me”

Nicole stopped her retreat and took a deep breath “You’re right… sorry-I don’t know what’s wrong with me… I am just so fucking angry”

“And I understand that-but don’t direct it at me or what we’ve been trying to do here…”

“I think I just need some air… Forgive me” Nicole said solemnly before opening the door and disappearing through it. 

She knew she was being unfair to the brunette, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Crossing over the road and heading into town, Nicole Haught didn’t know where she was going-but she did know she needed to clear her head-and the sooner she got herself out of Banff and back at headquarters to start her rehabilitation, the better

***

Waverly and Jeremy left Lucado to it. The Special Agent had intimated they were welcome to stay, but with Mattie Perley clearly taking over, there seemed little point to prolong the inevitable. They decided to walk into town for dinner, and were half way through their meal when Jeremy looked up at his friend and asked the question they had been skirting around all evening

“So… What’s going on with you and Nicole?” he asked cautiously 

“I don’t know what you mean” Waverly tried to deflect. She heard Jeremy sigh and looked up at her friend

“Waverly… There’s clearly something happening…”

“I thought so too, but… we can’t-not yet anyway…” Waverly replied defeatedly “She has a long way to go before she’s ready to even contemplate a relationship-and honestly Jer, I’m not sure I’d be a good option for her anyway… I will always have an association with this case-and that’s not necessarily what she needs”

“What about what you need?”

“With the best will in the world Jeremy, this isn’t about me… she needs help…” Waverly sighed

“Okay, but lets just say she got the help she needs, and lets just say the therapist says seeing you wouldn’t be a trigger… hypothetically, can you see this going somewhere?” Jeremy questioned

“Honestly?” Waverly started “Yeah, I think this could be something really special… But how could I possibly know that-the Nicole Haught I know, is not the Nicole Haught that is available-she’s a sort of veiled version of herself…”

“Okay, but fundamentally, the Nicole Haught you like isn’t the one that was working alongside Bobo, it’s the Nicole Haught you went dancing with to a pokey Irish bar on the outskirts of town right?”

“I guess” Waverly conceded

“Look, we have to leave first thing-just don’t leave before talking to her-if this is something with potential-you BOTH deserve to see where it can lead-be that in six months or six years-if you honestly think she’s worth the wait-let HER know that…” Jeremy reasoned, like it was the most obvious thing in the world

“How’d you get so smart?” Waverly asked with a smile

“It’s a gift” Jeremy replied-matching his friends grin

***

Nicole and Lucado had argued that this was a bad idea-but Nicole’s insistence and determination won out, and she found herself about to go in to talk to Rita Svane. It should have felt like a huge victory-bringing in one of the most notorious women of the underworld-but in truth, all Nicole felt was deflated. She wanted to look the woman in the eye and try and get to the bottom of what the hell had happened. She doubted Rita would give her an inch-but on the off chance, Nicole took a deep breath and opened the door to the interview room

Rita Svane sat with her lawyer looking non plussed by the whole situation. That was until she looked up and caught Nicole Haught staring back at her. Her face erupted into a grin and she sat up straight in her seat-Nicole couldn’t figure out if she was about to be given all the information she wanted, or thrown to the wolves, but either way she was ready for whichever outcome

“Nicole Rayleigh Haught… Well, well, well… If I wasn’t chained to this table, I would stand and applaud you sweetheart…” Rita said-her smile almost overwhelming

Nicole couldn’t help but smile back at the woman she had thought of as almost a friend “Would you like a drink Rita?”

“I would kill for a Vodka” Rita retorted. Nicole smiled and nodded her head, pulling out a hipflask and reaching for two plastic cups from the water cooler in the far corner. She poured two healthy measures and passed one over to the woman in front of her

“Can I ask you some questions before you get moved?” Nicole questioned

“Seeing as it’s you darling and you’ve caught me feeling generous, let’s hear them…” Rita replied with a weary smile and a tip of her cup

“When did you first realise I wasn’t who I said I was?”

“Later than you think… I didn’t know until after the raid-Lizzie never broke your cover-something I am both very proud and utterly disappointed in her for”

Nicole took a moment to digest that information-inside every person is both good and evil-and it would appear Eliza Shapiro was no exception 

“Funny that, I feel the same… but probably not in the same way” Nicole replied

Rita laughed and nodded her head in agreement “So what can I do for you Agent Haught? You’re surely not here to see your old friend off to the gallows now are you?”

“You’re being terribly dramatic Rita-that’s not at all like you…” Nicole said with a raised eyebrow

“Sweetheart, I may not get the death penalty for my crimes-but the minute I’m placed in prison, my life is over… Daddy will make sure of that…” Rita replied with a wry smile

“We can protect you”

“No you can’t… I appreciate the offer, but no-one can… Why do you think I had to stay married to Bobo for so long… He was my unwitting protector…”

“Well that’s what I find so fascinating Rita-you were on to a good thing, why screw it up?”

Rita laughed and shook her head “Because of you darling… I could see the way he was leaning on you and figured I needed to step up-he was one line of coke away from losing his shit to paranoia and I couldn’t bear the thought of having to kill you too-I figured we could run it together… Me, you and Eliza…” Rita admitted

“I’m assuming Bobo has no idea about your past?” Nicole asked, suddenly changing tack

“Oh no, he knew… told him my sob story years ago… I made him a promise that I’d stick by him and the poor fool believed me…”

“So you always intended to get rid of him?” Nicole questioned

“Not at first, but then Simon was nearing retirement and I just thought… why not… why can’t I have the man I love and our daughter by my side-I should have known these sorts of dreams never land in the lap of people like me…”

“Careful Rita, that almost sounds like self-pity” Nicole said

Rita let out a hollow laugh and nodded her head “I’m not going to answer anymore of your questions Nicole”

“That’s okay, you’ve been more than helpful…” Nicole replied “Why don’t we just enjoy a final drink together”

“Cheers to that Nic” Rita answered as she looked at the redhead and raised her cup once more

***

Waverly and Jeremy made their way back to the pokey motel on the outskirts of Banff that was currently home to some of the most revered FBI agents in North America. As they neared their respective rooms, Waverly noticed someone sitting on the bench outside her room-seemingly waiting for her to appear. They both stopped at the bench and looked down at Nicole Haught, who was leaning back with her eyes closed

“I’ll see you in the morning Jer” Waverly said quietly

“Do you need a hand?” he asked kindly

“I’m not drunk guys, just resting my eyes” Nicole replied with a smile “But thank you for the offer Jeremy-I appreciate it”

“Not at all… Waverly, we have to leave at 6AM” Jeremy informed her before smiling at the women and bidding them goodnight

Waverly watched her friend go and then turned to the redhead, who hadn’t moved from her position

“Mind if I sit down?” the brunette asked

“Please…” Nicole answered, looking at Waverly for the first time and offering her a small smile

Waverly sat down and looked out across the desolate car park, waiting for Nicole to show her hand

“I’m sorry” the redhead said simply

“It’s okay” Waverly replied softly

“It’s not… I know that I need help-but I can’t take my anger out on you… its unforgivable…”

“It’s not unforgivable Nic, but you’re right… you can’t make a habit of it” Waverly countered. She didn’t like seeing anyone struggle-especially someone she had grown to care for

“I’m leaving in the morning… going to headquarters to be admitted into a rehab program there…”

“I think that sounds like a very good idea” Waverly encouraged

“Did you mean what you said the other night? About this potentially going somewhere?” Nicole asked-her vulnerability shining through her voice

“I did… But…” Waverly said hesitantly “It might not be what you need… I can’t be a trigger” Waverly followed up cautiously

“I know…” Nicole agreed “But Waverly… I would like to try… I’m not asking you to wait-I would never, but… if you’re interested, I would very much like to take your number and call you when I’m finished and take you on a date…”

Waverly turned to the redhead and ran her hand across her shoulder and into her hair, scratching slightly to get the woman to turn towards her

“I think that sounds like an excellent idea Nicole… I meant that note I wrote you-something tells me you’re worth the wait…” Waverly replied with a smile. She leant over and kissed Nicole softly, lingering momentarily before pulling back

“Goodnight Nicole”

“Goodnight Waverly” the redhead replied, eyes still closed and lips still puckered

Waverly opened the door to her room and closed it softly, leaning against it and inhaling deeply. Nicole needed to find her true self again-and Waverly Earp knew, above all things, that she would wait for as long as that took


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...
> 
> Thank you for your patience as I got rid of that pesky bitch writers block and finally managed to get this down... 
> 
> A lot happens in this, the final chapter-so it's a bit longer than usual...
> 
> Like with every fic I have written, I like to finish up before it becomes like a task rather than a thing I do for enjoyment, and I like even numbers, so that's why this is one long chapter rather than two shorter ones!
> 
> Hope you enjoy, and thanks to all that have championed me and my work-you make an old lady very humbled and very happy...
> 
> D x

Waverly resisted the urge to creep into the room next door and snuggle into the crook of Nicole Haught’s neck. Whilst it would undoubtedly make her fall asleep immediately-she knew after their chat earlier, it was the last thing the redhead needed-so she resigned herself to a restless night and an earlier than planned start. 

She wasn’t surprised when the knock on her door just before 6AM came, but she couldn’t hide her disappointment when it was Jeremy on the other side-a bag in one hand and their tickets in the other

“Sorry… just me I’m afraid” her friend said with a smile

“Don’t ever be sorry for that” Waverly replied sincerely “Let’s get going then”

She pulled the door too and headed to the reception, popping her key card into the tatty old wooden box with the word ‘KEYS’ sitting atop the messy welcome desk. A car pulled up, the logo of the local cab company emblazoned on the doors signalling their ride was ready and waiting for them, so with one last look across the forecourt, Waverly climbed into the back and rested her head on Jeremy’s shoulder. 

He kissed the top of her head and linked their fingers together “It’ll be okay” he said softly

“I hope so…” Waverly replied after a moment. Even though they had left the night before on a positive note, there was a sense of dread Waverly felt bubbling in the pit of her stomach-and at that moment, she wouldn’t be surprised if she never saw Nicole Haught again

***

Walking back into the precinct felt oddly flat. Waverly had been on a rollercoaster the last 3 months, and suddenly she was expected to slip back into her old routine and get on like she hadn’t just been involved in the case of her life. She threw her bag at the desk and shrugged her coat off, hanging it on the stand next to the door. It was still early, and there weren’t too many people around-so Waverly took the time to write her final reports for the case-taking care to describe the last 48 hours in detail so as not to miss a step

She was just applying the final touches when Dolls opened the door to their department, a coffee in his hand and a police folder under his arm. Waverly stood to welcome him, smiling at her partner and approaching him with her arms out

“Hello friend” she said making her way over to his desk. Dolls looked her in the eye and shook his head-his reaction stopping Waverly in her tracks 

“You okay?” she asked cautiously. Dolls shook his head again and took his coat off, flinging it onto his chair and barely looking at her as he walked towards the kitchen located at the other side of the open plan office

“Just fine Earp” he replied snippily. He disappeared into the break room, and Waverly took a moment to process before following him and closing the door behind them

“Okay, what gives?” Waverly said the minute they were alone

“Nothing Waverly… absolutely nothing…” came the terse response

“Hey, look at me” Waverly demanded. Dolls let out a frustrated sigh, but had the good grace to turn and face his partner

“What the hell Dolls?”

“How was Banff?” 

“Pretty shitty…” Waverly replied “We got pulled off the case”

“I heard” Dolls said “So are you back now to carry on with proper police work? Or are you planning to drop everything and disappear to wherever the FBI are?”

“Are you… are you kidding me with this?” Waverly asked incredulously “For fuck sake Dolls, I was given a direct order to maintain contact with them…”

“Sure you were” Dolls retorted. He started to move towards the door, but Waverly stood her ground, defiance flaring in her eyes

“What the hell is this all about? Talk to me…” Waverly said, unfolding her arms to give an air of openness

“John Henry Holliday… We still don’t know what happened”

“Bobo shot him” Waverly replied with a frown

“But we don’t know why… He has a wife Waves… he has a wife and she wants to know how this happened… and I can’t tell her, because we don’t know… you got so caught up in the FBI aspect, you lost sight of the reason why we were there in the first place… an informant is dead… MY informant is dead… doesn’t it bother you that we don’t know how it happened?” Dolls asked, his hands on his hips and his eyes boring into the woman in front of him

“Of course it matters… I just…” Waverly started, before realising she had no excuse “You’re right… I’m sorry…”

Dolls shrugged his shoulders in defeat “Doesn’t matter now right? Case taken over so what can we do?” he asked deflated

“There’s plenty we can do… Come on… let’s go” Waverly said suddenly

“Where are we going?” Dolls replied with a frown

“We’re going to talk to Bobo Del Rey…”

***

Waverly wasn’t easily intimidated. She had spent her career surrounded by criminals-some of whom tried to scare her, some of whom tried to ask her out and some of whom were worried about what she was going to do to them. She felt no different as she waited for Robert Svane to be brought to an interview room inside Lantel Federal Penitentiary. Whilst it housed predominantly medium security prisoners, there was a maximum-security wing-which was where Bobo Del Rey found himself placed as he awaited transportation to the States. 

The door opened and Del Rey shuffled in, his hands and ankles cuffed making walking difficult and the reflection of his bright orange prison issued jump suit almost bouncing off the pale walls. He sat next to his lawyer and opposite Waverly, a smile so wide all his teeth were on show. Whilst he was obviously trying to make Waverly feel uncomfortable, he couldn’t hide his tiredness and his discomfort at being bound 

“Good morning Robert… do you need anything?” Waverly asked once the door had closed

“A coffee wouldn’t go amiss” Bobo replied with a smile

“I’m sure we can sort something out… What about you Phillip? Do you want anything?” Waverly said-directing the question to Bobo’s lawyer.

He nodded his agreeance to coffee and Waverly opened the door and disappeared to the machine at the end of the corridor

Five minutes later, she returned with two coffees and a bottle of water-placing the cardboard cups in front of the two men and re-taking her seat. She picked up the file in front of her and made out she was reading the contents as Dolls began to question the man in front of them

“So, Mr Svane, we’re here to talk to you today…” Dolls began, before being cut off by Bobo Del Rey shaking his head 

“Not you… Her…” he replied 

“What do you mean her?” Dolls questioned-already knowing the answer “I will only speak to her”

Waverly looked startled as she glanced up from the file 

“Me?” She said, playing her part brilliantly “I don’t think there’s much point to that”

“And why’s that Detective Earp?” Bobo asked

“Because I already know what you’re going to say Bobo…” Waverly replied with a shrug

“What makes you think that?” 

“I know you. I know what you’re like, how you think, what you want… I know you Bobo…” the brunette finished, hoping he’d take the bait

“Hmm…” He responded as he sat back and looked at the brunette “Feelings mutual Waverly”

“Really?” She retorted “Pretty sure you don’t know me at all”

“I know you better than you think-see I’ve been watching you from afar… I know that you liked the thrill of the club, you liked the attention-almost thrived on it-and I know you saw me looking-and I know you liked that too”

“Am I that transparent?” Waverly deadpanned

“Admit it Waverly, you liked the attention”

“I don’t know a woman that wouldn’t” Waverly lied. Internally, she found flirting with the man in front of her repellent, but she knew she had to play this game-however uncomfortable it made her feel

Bobo laughed and nodded his head “I find you fascinating Detective Waverly Earp”

“Feelings mutual Mr Svane…” Waverly replied. She opened the bottle of water in front of her and took a long drink, slowly screwing the top back on-aware Bobo was yet to take his eyes off her “Do you want to play a game?”

“A game? What kind of game?” he asked, leaning forward slightly

“For every question you answer, I will do the same-no lies, no cover ups, the Gods honest truth”

“How will I know you’ll be honourable?” he questioned

“I thought you knew me Bobo-surely you’ll be able to tell… and really, we have you on a murder charge-what have you got to lose?” Waverly said. She could see his interest was piqued and hoped he’d take the bait. They stared at each other for a moment-Bobo seemingly weighing up his options

“Of course if you’re not going to talk, what’s the point of me being here-I’ve got other things to do” she said, making a show of getting up and swiping the closed file from the table

“No, okay-let’s try it… What do you want to know?” he rushed out-the quickness in his comment betraying his cool exterior

“Why did you shoot Doc Holliday?” Waverly asked immediately

“He was a rat. Falco was about to pull the deal and we needed to get rid of the guns, so I showed my loyalty to Andreus” Bobo replied simply

“How did you know he was dirty?” 

“No, no, no, no, no Waverly… it’s my turn… One question at a time remember…” Bobo said, his wolfish grin returning “Did you fuck Nicole Haught?” 

“Waverly, you don’t have to answer that” Dolls whispered

“I do…” She said to her partner and then turned back to the man opposite her “Yes I did”

Bobo started to laugh and sat back in his chair “And was it good?”

“Who told you about Doc Holliday?”

“Falco told us the day you woke up at Nicole’s apartment. How did she taste?”

“Fucking incredible. How did Falco know Doc was an informant?”

“You’ll have to ask him…” Bobo replied “Where’s my wife?”

“In Banff about to be transported to the States… How close are Falco and Irving?”

Bobo frowned at the question “They’d never met before the night at my house as far as I know… I was the lynchpin holding the whole thing together” he boasted, puffing out his chest with self-importance

Waverly nodded her head in understanding-the last piece of the puzzle finally slipping into place

“Okay… well thank you Bobo, you’ve been incredibly helpful” Waverly said as she stood up and picked up her water bottle and the paperwork

“Wait a minute… that’s it? That’s all you want to know?” Bobo asked, his tone switching from arrogant to almost desperate in the blink of an eye

“That’s it…” Waverly nodded

“But… we can’t be… we’re not done yet are we?” he pleaded

“We’re done Bobo” the brunette said as she walked to the door

“One more question Waverly please...” the gang boss begged. Waverly took a deep breath and turned back to face him 

“Go on…”

“Would you visit me if I asked you to?” Bobo said, watching her walk to the door

“No” Waverly replied simply. She opened the door and strode out into the corridor, leaving Robert Svane calling after her as she went

***

The lights of the city twinkled in front of her as Waverly headed towards a bar situated on a roof top terrace in the heart of the tourist district. Overly priced drinks and an expensive wine list gave the impression of exclusivity, but it was just another bar on another roof with another band playing live for the patrons

Dolls had driven them back to work that morning and they had put the final pieces together-spending the rest of the day getting confirmation from various sources that Michael Irving and Andreus Falco had never met before. Dolls had even spoken with Joshua Walker-it being decided Waverly couldn’t be involved in that conversation due to their, albeit small, history together. 

The brunette ordered a Gin Martin and sat at the bar, taking in the small crowd and allowing the music to drift over her. She took stock of the last three months. The work she had done undercover and her part in unravelling one of the FBI’s most wanted women. And inevitably, this all brought her back once again to Nicole Haught. She couldn’t pin point what it was about the FBI agent that had her head in a spin. There was just something about her. In the face of such danger, Waverly only ever felt safe. She felt like nothing could harm her when Nicole was close by and that together, they could get through anything. But she knew Nicole needed time and space to figure out how to function within her world again. She almost needed to re-train herself on how to be her. She needed to discover who it was she wanted to be-and that was going to take time. Waverly knew that. She knew Nicole needed to take herself away and work on fixing herself. But it didn’t stop her wishing they had met under different circumstances. She sighed and took another sip of her drink, closing her eyes as the cocktail slipped down her throat, leaving a burning sensation in its wake 

“Well, well, well… I didn’t think I’d be seeing you any time soon” a voice said behind her. 

Waverly slowly turned on her stool and gave a weary smile “Hey Rosie”

Rosita Bustillos stood there, an unreadable expression on her face and her arms folded in front of her chest. 

“Can I get you a drink?” Waverly asked. The musician stood for a moment, weighing up her options, before letting out a sigh and sitting down on the stool next to the detective. Waverly indicated to the barman for another round of Martini’s and then turned to look at the woman beside her-who was leaning on the bar, eyes fixed in front of her

“How you doing?” Waverly asked after a moment

“How do you think I’m doing?” Rosita snapped, before letting out another sigh and turning slightly to face the smaller woman “Sorry…”

“Don’t be… I get it” Waverly said softly “I’m sorry Rosie”

“For what? Lying to me? Making me think we were friends when clearly I was just a way for you to get to Bobo?” Rosita asked-hurt laced amongst the anger in her tone

“I was just doing my job Rosita… But I am sorry I hurt you… I never had to pretend with you-I like you Rosita-and in another life I think we would have been great friends” Waverly said honestly 

Rosita nodded her head slightly in acknowledgment “So you and Haught… it was all put on? You were very convincing…”

Waverly paused before answering “To an extent… I work for the police and she works for the FBI-I went in undercover initially to get intel on Nicole-not realising she was an agent… Once we discovered we were both on the same side, our bosses put us together… But I think we’d both be lying if we denied it was made easier for us due to the attraction we had for one another…”

Rosita stared at the drink in front of her “So why are you here Detective Earp”

“Why did you do it?” Waverly asked quietly

“Do what?” Rosita frowned

“Rosie… I know it was you who told Falco about Doc informing…” Waverly said “I just don’t understand why…”

Rosita shook her head and made to get up-stopping only when she felt a firm hand on her wrist 

“I wouldn’t bother trying Rosita, I have every exit covered” Waverly warned. The musician sighed and sat back down, staring ahead and deciding how she would play this out. 

“I didn’t mean to…” Rosita said defeatedly “It was a stupid mistake…”

“What happened?” Waverly asked gently

“I was in school with Andreus’ daughter Olivia. A couple of months ago she threw a birthday party and I went along… I had always gotten along with Al-Liv’s older brother, and we ended up hooking up… we were talking about our exes and I mentioned I’d recently been in a relationship, and we just talked… Al was charming and made me feel good… like I wasn’t second best you know… I was so angry with Doc… I drank a bit too much and I don’t even know why but I ended up saying ‘I was better off out of it as Doc was a snitch’… I didn’t even think about it-I had no idea Andreus was in the midst of a deal with Bobo or that Al was working for his dad…” Rosita finished-wiping away the tears that had silently started to fall onto her cheeks

The women sat there for a moment, taking stock of what the musician had just admitted. After a couple of minutes Rosita was brought out of her daze by a tap to the shoulder and informed she was on again in five. The darker haired woman got up slowly and looked at Waverly for a moment before starting to turn away

‘‘How did you know? About Doc... how did you know he was informing?’’ Waverly asked as the taller woman began to leave

‘‘The stupid son of a bitch talked in his sleep’’ Rosita replied sadly

Waverly felt for the woman- one misguided conversation had resulted in a man’s death. That kind of guilt would live long in somebody’s soul, and Waverly knew immediately she would end this conversation tonight and take the matter no further. Rosita would have to live with this, and as far as Waverly was concerned, that was punishment enough

***

Autumn in New York had always been a favourite of Waverly’s. The colours of the leaves as vibrant as the city itself. She had suspected she would be called to testify once Rita Svanes trial began-and whilst it had been eight months since she had had any involvement-she and Dolls had prepped meticulously, so she was as prepared as ever as she walked into the court room. 

The questions were simple and direct-she gave her account of the night at the Del Rey’s party and confirmed her report findings submitted into evidence. She was a tiny cog in a huge machine when it came to this case, so she wasn’t surprised when she was dismissed with no further questions from either side of the bench after a single session. The case had attracted much interest from the media-again, something that was unsurprising to the detective. Hollywood was waiting with baited breath what the outcome would be, with talks of a film in the works. Waverly found the whole thing quite vulgar-and had dismissed the idea with distain the minute she had been approached. 

She hadn’t heard from Nicole. After three months of silence, Waverly and her heavy heart accepted it for what it clearly was-a moment of intensity that would never have happened if the circumstances had been different. Waverly had promised space and Nicole Haught had taken it in abundance-her distance providing all the answers Waverly needed. So as she left the courthouse that blustery autumn afternoon she didn’t noticed the redhead walking towards her until the taller woman was standing in front of her-a sharp suit on her body and a dimpled smile on her lips

“Waverly” Nicole said simply. 

Waverly looked up startled and took a step back as recognition dawned on her. Waverly hadn’t been prepared to see the FBI Agent. Sophia Lucado had been her contact through-out proceedings and had assured Waverly that Nicole Haught would not be needed at the court house whilst Waverly was testifying. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her-quite the opposite in fact- but she hadn’t expected to. As far as she was concerned Nicole’s silence had spoken volumes. She didn’t need an awkward conversation to reach that conclusion

“Nicole…” Waverly replied after a moment “How are you?”

“I’m well… I’m really well actually…” Nicole smiled-Waverly internally cursed her pesky heart as it skipped a beat

“Good…”

“How did it go?” Nicole asked, indicating to the courthouse Waverly had just left

“Oh you know… fine… pretty unnecessary really but it’s done now…” Waverly said with an awkward laugh

“Waverly…” Nicole started, but was cut off by a shake of Waverly’s head

“Nicole, really it’s fine…”

“No look I’d…” the redhead tried again

“Honestly Nicole, don’t… I’d rather you didn’t actually… Please” Waverly said, looking the taller woman in the eye for the first time

Nicole’s face fell but she took a step back and put her hands in her pockets and nodded her head

“Okay…”

“Thank you” Waverly said with another awkward smile “It was… it was good to see you again” 

She walked round the redhead and continued on her way-her heart telling her to stop and listen, but her head telling her to keep going. Her head won out and so with shoulders back and head held high, Waverly Earp walked away-leaving Nicole Haught watching her go

***

Nicole had to see Waverly Earp again. She wasn’t confident on many things, but on this she was certain. The brunette had walked away from her, and she wasn’t going to let that stand. She had spent three months in intensive therapy when she had got back to Quantico. Realising almost immediately that she no longer wanted to be an FBI field Agent. She had recognised that she was tired of the life-or lack thereof. It had been a catalyst to the end of her marriage and whilst she was aware she and Shae were always destined to end in divorce-she wanted more for herself. She had enrolled in a Forensic Phycology course at headquarters and was half way through her intensive training. 

She had meant to phone the brunette-her doctors advised her not to. To get herself settled on her course and then approach, offering a friendship in the hope it would progress naturally into something more. She had reluctantly followed advise-trusting they knew more about her than she did. Boy did she get that wrong. 

Mustering her strength, she set off after the smaller woman, cursing how quickly someone with such little legs could walk. She watched the brunette cross the road and disappear into Madison Square Park, so Nicole picked up her pace and started to jog towards the gates that led into the expanse of greenery beyond

“Waverly” Nicole called as she neared the tiny woman. Waverly stopped and turned back with a look of surprise on her face “Waverly wait please…” 

“Nicole…” the detective started to say 

“No listen, please…” Nicole cut in “Can I please buy you a coffee?”

“There’s really no need” Waverly said with a smile so fake it broke Nicole’s heart

“You see I think there is… There is so much to say…” Nicole argued “And if you genuinely can’t face it, then I will leave you alone-but Waverly, it would be remiss of me to walk away without trying everything I have in me… Please…”

Waverly tilted her head to the side and smiled slightly at the redhead “Okay… but not coffee… the least you can do is buy me lunch…”

Nicole exhaled nervously and nodded her agreement “I couldn’t agree more”

They walked side by side, occasionally throwing glances at one another and smiling. Nicole had been staying in New York for most of the court case and had discovered little pockets of brilliance within the vast city. She led them to a bar called Bo’s Kitchen and Bar-which was known for decent food at not extortionate rates, along with a good cocktail and beer menu. As it was mid-afternoon, there were plenty of tables available, so they picked a booth at the back which offered them some privacy away from the smattering of patrons sitting near the bar area

They ordered their food and received their drinks quickly-both opting for a beer and various small plates for the table

“I should have called…” Nicole said as soon at their drinks were placed in front of them and the waitress had retreated “I wanted to, I wanted to call the minute I got to Quantico”

“Why didn’t you?” 

“I was advised not to… I didn’t really speak to anyone other than the therapists for the first 4 weeks-and then I made a major career change and it was suggested I get that in place before I look to contact anyone to do with the case… I only spoke to Lucado when deemed necessary for the trial”

“What career change?” Waverly asked, genuinely interested

“I want to be a Profiler… I can’t go back out in the field-if that case has taught me anything, it’s that there’s more to life than work… I want to go home every night and work normal hours and have holidays… The bureau have been great and got me signed up to a post graduates scheme where I’ll be trained within the year and working with an experienced profiler out of their Behavioural Science Unit” Nicole explained

“So… you’re going to be based in Quantico?” Waverly said

“No” Nicole jumped in quickly “No, the training is at Quantico, but I’ll be based in the city-I didn’t want to leave my home… But that’s also a reason I didn’t call-I didn’t want it to seem like I was asking you to put your life on hold”

“Why would I think that?” Waverly frowned

“Think about it Waverly, how would it have sounded me phoning and saying ‘not yet, but in a year’… doesn’t it sound a little presumptuous?”

“So you thought ghosting was the answer?” Waverly laughed “You are just AWFUL at this aren’t you” 

Nicole blinked at the woman in front of her “Well… I mean… Yeah, alright, it was the wrong call…” 

“You think?” Waverly said incredulously “I’ve been trying my damnedest to just get over you and move on, and all the while you’ve been absolutely fine-more than fine in fact… Have you any idea how frustrating that is?”

“I’m sorry…” Nicole said, holding Waverly’s stare “As I say… I made the wrong call…”

“Jesus Nicole…” Waverly said through a breath

They were interrupted by the waitress returning with their plates of food-a welcome respite for the smaller woman at the table. Nicole wasn’t sure what she expected from this, but she had a feeling Waverly was deciding whether or not to continue with their lunch. She breathed an internal sigh of relief when the brunette picked up her knife and fork and started to pick at the food in front of them

“So what is it you want Nicole?” Waverly asked after a couple of painful minutes eating in silence

“Honestly?” Nicole asked as she placed her cutlery down and wiped her mouth with her napkin “You Waverly. I want you”

Waverly looked up at the redhead and supressed a smile, leaning back in her chair and holding eye contact “How is it you can piss me off to the point of being driven mad, and yet win me over with one fucking word…” the Detective asked rhetorically

“It’s a gift” Nicole replied with a smile so bright it had Waverly stomach lurch in spite herself

“You don’t get to just have this on a plate”

“Understood” Nicole agreed

“And I expect to be wooed… and I mean properly… fancy dinners and theatre going-the lot”

“Absolutely” the redhead said with a grin

“And sex is off the table” 

Nicole’s smile faltered momentarily before nodding her ascent “I think that’s actually a really good idea”

“Okay…” Waverly all but whispered

“Okay? Okay I get to take you on a date?” Nicole asked, pretty sure she knew the answer, but wanting to check regardless

“You do…” Waverly nodded with the first real smile she’d shown in the forty minutes they’d been together

“Thank you” Nicole exhaled “Can I start tonight?”

Waverly laughed lightly and Nicole felt her heart skip a beat

“Sure, why not” Waverly said with a shake of her head

Nicole knew they were a long way off from where she wanted them to be-and she knew it would take time, patience and effort from both sides for them to look far into the future-but as she sipped her beer across from Waverly Earp and listened to the woman laugh, Nicole knew, however long it would take, it would be worth every single step


End file.
